When a tenancy crosses from money-only into safety territory, the playbook changes completely. Cash-for-Keys is off the table. The Garda referral is on. The evidence pack becomes the case.
This case was not handled by shelter.ie. Facts below are sourced from Irish Times reporting of the underlying RTB hearing. The "What shelter.ie's playbook would have been" section is our analysis.
In May 2025, the Residential Tenancies Board heard a case in which a landlord brought proceedings against a tenant whose rent arrears had reached €42,000 and who, the landlord alleged, had sent threatening messages.
The case combined two distinct dispute categories: a serious rent arrears claim, and a separate allegation of conduct that — if substantiated — would constitute breach of tenant obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and potentially criminal harassment under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
The case was heard at RTB tribunal level. Press coverage focused on the arrears figure and the alleged threats; we don't have the determination order outcome from the press article alone.
Source: Irish Times, "Tenant accused of sending 'threatening' messages to landlord had built up rent arrears of €42,000", 9 May 2025.
When threats enter a tenancy dispute, multiple legal frameworks become live simultaneously, and the landlord (or their representative) has to operate across all of them in parallel.
1. Residential Tenancies Act 2004 — section 16 and section 67 govern the tenant's obligations to behave properly and the landlord's grounds for termination on anti-social or breach grounds. ASB grounds typically permit shorter notice periods than standard arrears grounds — sometimes as little as 7 days for serious behaviour.
2. Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, section 10 creates the offence of harassment — persistently following, watching, pestering, besetting, or communicating with another person such that it interferes with their peace and privacy. Up to 7 years on indictment. This is a criminal offence; it's a Garda matter, not a civil one.
3. Section 5 of the same Act creates the offence of threats to kill or cause serious harm. If a message threatens lethal harm, this is a separate, more serious offence than general harassment.
4. Criminal Damage Act 1991 can apply if any threats include damage to property.
5. The District Court has jurisdiction to grant safety orders or barring orders (under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 in some intra-household circumstances; under inherent jurisdiction in others) — fast emergency civil orders to keep the tenant away from the landlord pending other proceedings.
The point is: the legal toolkit is dramatically broader once threats enter. The €42,000 in arrears becomes secondary to keeping the landlord and any family members safe.
The arithmetic of this case is harder than the standard overholding case, because the priorities are different:
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Base arrears | €42,000 |
| RTB damages cap (above arrears) | €20,000 |
| Theoretical maximum civil award (arrears + damages) | up to ~€62,000 (if statutory maxima reached) |
| Realistic recovery via judgment mortgage | Depends on tenant's property — typically €0 for renters |
| Realistic recovery via instalment order | €50–€200/week if tenant has income, over many years |
| Realistic cash recovery | Often a fraction of the awarded figure |
| Personal safety value | Priceless and primary |
This is the case where we're explicit with clients: full recovery of the €42,000 may not happen. What WILL happen is removing the tenant safely, getting an RTB determination on the public record, making a Garda complaint that goes on the criminal record, and using whatever recovery tools are available post-vacate. The arrears figure is secondary to the safety outcome.
This is a Documentation & Evidence + RTB Acceleration combined engagement. Cash-for-Keys is excluded — you don't pay someone to leave who has been threatening you. The combined fee is €750 setup + €250/month + €2,000 = ~€3,500 over 6–10 months.
Step 1 — Personal safety assessment. First call: do you live near the property? Is the tenant aware of your home address? Do you have family members who interact with the tenant or the property? Your safety dictates everything else. We may advise immediate security measures (no solo property visits, change of routine, panic-button protocol if visits are unavoidable).
Step 2 — Garda referral. All threatening messages, with full chain of custody, brought to the local Garda station for a complaint under section 10 NFOAP. The Gardaí decide what to charge. This runs in parallel with — does not replace — the RTB process. The criminal complaint also creates a documentary record that supports the RTB case.
Step 3 — Evidence preservation, real-time. Every threatening message screenshotted, hashed for chain of custody, timestamped, and stored. Phone records preserved. Any future communication captured the moment it lands. This is the core of the Documentation & Evidence Service in this kind of case.
Step 4 — RTB application on dual grounds. Notice of Termination served on both arrears AND anti-social-behaviour grounds. The ASB grounds typically permit shorter notice periods. The dual-grounds application means that if one ground fails for technical reasons, the other still carries.
Step 5 — Solicitor referral for Circuit Court safety order. If the threats are sustained or escalating, our partner solicitor applies for a District/Circuit Court safety order keeping the tenant away from the landlord. This is litigation territory — beyond shelter.ie's scope, handled by partner counsel.
Step 6 — RTB tribunal advocacy. Our advocate appears at the tribunal with the full evidence pack. Threatening messages, Garda complaint reference, witness statements, property condition photos. The combination supports both the arrears and the ASB determination.
Step 7 — Post-determination: recovery + ongoing safety. Whatever arrears are recoverable, pursued via judgment mortgage / instalment / debt collector partnership. Ongoing safety planning if the criminal proceedings continue. We don't close the engagement when the tenant leaves; we close it when both the property and the landlord are stable.
Money-only cases and money-plus-threats cases are different cases. They look similar at the surface (tenant in arrears, landlord wants out) and they're often run as if they were the same — to the landlord's serious detriment.
A landlord facing threats who runs a money-only RTB case is leaving the criminal complaint un-made, the safety orders un-applied-for, the personal protection un-prepared. The €42,000 figure feels like it should be the main event, but it isn't.
The flip side: a Garda complaint without an RTB application doesn't get the tenant out of the property. The two processes have to run in parallel, coordinated, with one project manager who's tracking both.
This is what the Documentation & Evidence Service exists for, and why it's the only one of our three packs that runs as a retainer rather than a fixed engagement.
If your tenancy has crossed the line from money into threats, do two things tonight: (1) document every message you've received with screenshots and timestamps; (2) save the Garda local-station number to your phone. Then book the consult tomorrow.
We don't take a 15-minute consult lightly in this kind of case — we'll usually extend it to 30 minutes, free, because the safety planning matters more than the sales conversation.
Free 15-minute consult. We'll tell you which pack fits — or that none of them does.
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