Housing activists reenter Dublin house after nine person eviction was observed by gardai
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Nine tenants were evicted from a home on Berkeley Road in Phibsborough on Wednesday morning.
The government’s blanket ban on evictions during the COVID-19 came to an end on August 1.
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Nine people who were evicted from a home in Phibsborough, north Dublin, have reentered the property. Pic: Shutterstock
The Irish Times reports that several men wearing masks and sunglasses and dressed all in black came to the property on Wednesday morning to remove the tenants.
It has also been suggested that a number of Gardai were present at the eviction.
The house was later boarded up as the windows and doors were barricaded to prevent the tenants from reentering the home.
The nine people who were evicted, who were mostly foreign nationals, stood outside the property with their belongings in bin bags.
It has been suggested that the tenants did not receive a written warning from their landlord and the eviction took them by surprise.
It is understood that the former landlord has been involved in a legal dispute with Beltany Finance over the property since 2017. Goldman Sachs told The Irish Times that the property had been sold on June 2.
© Provided by Extra.ie Gardai also attended the scene of the eviction in North Dublin on Wednesday morning. Pic: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
Following a protest from housing activists from the Dublin Central Housing Action Group on Thursday, the evicted residents have now returned to the house.
The group removed the barricades from the front of the house to allow the tenants to reenter. Significant damage was done to the property as doors, windows and toilets were broken.
One tenant said that they had lived in the home for many years and that it was cruel to throw residents outs on the street in the middle of the pandemic.
© Provided by Extra.ie The Irish Council of Civil Liberties has now reported the incident to the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire
The Irish Council of Civil Liberties has now reported the incident to the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris.
Gardai confirmed that they attended the Dublin eviction to ensure peace was maintained.