A protest took place outside the Four Courts in Dublin on Saturday to show support for tenants who are being taken to court by their Donegal-based landlords to get them evicted.

Residents of St. Helen's Court, a Dún Laoghaire apartment complex, have been involved in a four-year-long battle to keep their homes. They will be in court again this coming Friday, February 4, 2022.

The protest was organised by People Before Profit leader, and TD for Dún Laoghaire, Richard Boyd Barrett, who tweeted during the event, "Great turn out at the protest outside St Helen's Court." He said that it was encouraging to see the level of support shown to the residents in their battle to keep their homes.

Although a few of the original tenants have already left the address, the remaining residents there, including some who have lived at St. Helen's Court for over 20 years, now face losing their homes.

The dispute began in 2016 when twenty of the apartments at the complex were sold by hte then landlords to Apollo Global Management and Deutsche Bank, according to an Irish Times report by Kitty Holland from 2021. Later that year, PwC (PricewaterhouseCooper), acting on behalf of the landlords, moved to increase rents by 50%, just days before rent-capping laws came into place.

Holland's piece also reported that, in August 2017, residents were served with a motion of termination for "substantial refurbishments" to occur, which the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) deemed invalid.

When the apartments were then sold to Mill Street Projects Ltd by PwC in February 2019, the ten remaining residents were again served with termination notices, this time by the new landlords, on the grounds of substantial refurbishment before either re-letting or sale. The RTB ruled that this contravened a section of the 2004 Residential Tenancies Act, which means that landlords cannot evict ten or more tenancies at a property, if they intend to sell them within six months.

Notices were withdrawn, but then given again in August 2019 to eight of the original ten residents citing the same reason. Although those who were served with the notices appealed on the grounds that the landlords were attempting to circumvent the previous ruling decision, the RTB ruled against them (and for the landlords) on this occasion, deeming the notices valid.

The Mill Street Projects Limited had said in a statement to RTÉ in 2019: "Due to necessary remedial works needing to be carried out to the apartments and the overall block, we have been advised that the apartments must be vacated in order to carry out these important works....

"Everything will be done in accordance with current regulations."

Those assurances are of no use to the current tenants, for whom it has now become a very urgent issue. A moratorium had been placed on evictions during the coronavirus pandemic. However, this moratorium has now ended with the final easing of restrictions – as a result of which, the issue has now come to a head, with those still living at the property facing potential eviction, depending on the outcome of court proceedings.

Great turn out at the protest outside St Helen's Court. The support and solidarity shown to the tenants been taken to court by a ruthless vulture fund is great to see.@MelisaHalpin @catudunlaoghai1 pic.twitter.com/9by9s63nhh

— Richard Boyd Barrett (@RBoydBarrett) January 29, 2022