Posted by Updated / Friday, 13 Mar 2026 15:44
Mid West Correspondent
A reported 20 families face eviction from an apartment block in Limerick city after receiving notices of termination from their landlord a week before the Government’s new rental rules came into effect.
Many of the tenants at The Park on Lord Edward Street are Polish families who have lived in the two-bedroom apartments for more than 15 years.
The letters, which they received at the end of February, state that they must “vacate and give up possession of the dwelling on or before” 10 October this year.
They also said the reason for the termination of the tenancies is because the landlord intends to sell the properties.
Karolina Lakoma said she was “in absolute shock” when she got the letter from her landlord on 26 February.
“We were in a state of deep, deep shock because we are here for many, many years,” she said.
“We are well embedded into the community, our kids are going to local schools. They were born in this building. It just came suddenly, even though some people had just signed their leases for the next year, they got eviction notices.”
Watch: ‘State of deep, deep shock’ – families face eviction from Limerick apartment block
Another tenant, Agnieszka Jagielska, has been living in The Park for 15 years with her husband and two children.
“I was very sad because when I opened the letter, I said, ‘Oh my goodness, what will we do now?’”
She said her youngest asked if they would be homeless, and she told them, “No, Mom will do everything for you”.
Guntis Klabims said the notice of eviction was “very unexpected” as he and his wife have been renting an apartment for 17 years.
“Me and my wife, we both work very hard. We pay taxes, our kids go to school,” he said.
The couple have tried looking for other accommodation outside Limerick city, “but the rent is almost €3,000”.
“We both work full-time and even then, it’s not affordable,” he said.
Labour councillor Joe Leddin said it is an appalling situation that 20 families, many of whom have been living in the apartments since they were built, have received eviction notices.
He blamed the new rent rules introduced earlier this month for the situation.
Mr Leddin said the “hand-fisted legislation has caused complete chaos, uncertainty and confusion” in the rental market for tenants and landlords.
“What’s happening here now is a real human story,” he said. “They are absolutely traumatised and terrified and are at risk of homelessness.”
He appealed to the landlord to withdraw the eviction notices and engage with the families to see if a solution can be found.
The Park was built by Reidy Civil Engineering, who bought the land for private development from Limerick City Council in 2005.
The sale was the subject of controversy at the time, because the land formed part of the People’s Park and was not owned by the local authority when it agreed to sell it.
The park was a gift to the people from the Earl of Limerick and was held in trust under the terms of a 500-year lease agreed in the 19th century between the Earl, the People’s Park Trustees, and Limerick Corporation.
The local authority bought the land in the People’s Park from the trustees and the Earl of Limerick’s estate for €150,000 and later sold it – together with adjoining council-owned land, totalling 0.44 acres – to Reidy Civil Engineering Ltd for €1.57 million in 2005.
By the time the sale was finalised, construction of the 59 apartments and accompanying office and retail space was already underway, some 18 months after planning permission was granted.
Limerick City Council dismissed suggestions at the time that there was anything unusual in reaching an agreement for a development with a private developer before planning permission was lodged or granted.
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