Landlord who advertised house at higher rent after evicting family ordered to pay €15,000

A Westmeath landlord who evicted a tenant and her two children claiming he required the property for his daughter before advertising it at a higher rent has been ordered to pay €15,000 in damages.Padraig Coyne’s actions were described as “egregious” by a Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) tribunal after it heard he re-advertised the house in Rochfortbridge about two months after tenant Aida Cassiano left.Coyne, who failed to attend an initial hearing in April, and the rescheduled hearing in May earlier this year, increased the rent by 50 per cent, according to the Daft.ie notice submitted as evidence.Cassiano, who had been living in the house since 2017, left in May 2025 on foot of the termination notice, and had subsequently lived at three different properties by the time of the hearing, saying she was “tired of constantly moving house”.READ MORE[ Sharp rise in rents charged to new tenants as reforms took effect, RTB reportsOpens in new window ]She, her two teenage children and their three dogs, first moved to a farmhouse in Moate but left after several months, alleging that a man living in a shed on a nearby farm regularly entered her home “uninvited”.She also claimed her landlord in Moate began to enter the house, which was “infested” with mice, “unannounced and uninvited”.Her daughter moved back to Portugal, where the family is originally from, and she subsequently rented a room for her, her son and their dogs, she said.About three months later, she moved again, and was staying with a friend in Co Roscommon by the time of the hearing.[ Woman who sought €8,000 in damages for silverfish ‘infestation’ fails in RTB caseOpens in new window ]She told the tribunal she had been paying €1,000 in rent per month to Coyne. The property was advertised in July 2025 as being “immediately” available for €1,500 per month.Cassiano, who said she ran an art school in Mullingar, claimed she lost about 20 per cent of her clients during the various moves, adding that she also took out an €8,000 loan for a new premises to store her supplies.She told the tribunal she could not afford to move out from her friend’s house, as she did not have the funds to cover a security deposit and one month’s rent.Cassiano said she was seeking compensation as she remained “very affected by what had happened” to her and her family.[ RTB awards €6,500 in damages to tenant after ‘traumatic’ incidentOpens in new window ]The tribunal heard Coyne subsequently listed the house for sale in late 2025, with Cassiano saying it remained for sale by the time of the hearing.The tribunal said it was not known whether Coyne’s daughter occupied the property and vacated it within the two-month period. However, it was “clear” he did not comply with his requirement to offer the house back to Cassiano should his daughter have vacated.It described Cassiano as “understated” when giving evidence, but was satisfied she was “very affected by the actions of the landlord, which the tribunal deems in all the circumstances to be egregious”.It ordered Coyne to pay €15,000 within 28 days.