The Residential Tenancy Board (RTB) has ruled against Trinity’s overnight guest policies following a complaint launched by former TCDSU President László Molnárfi.
An RTB tribunal held on 25 November 2024 ruled that the current College policy violated Section 76, also known as the peaceful occupation clause, of the Residential Tenancies Act of 2004.
This right to peaceful and exclusive occupation of dwelling is laid out in the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which brought purpose-built student accommodation under its remit in an amendment act in 2019.
The RTB tribunal in November had found that the current overnight guest policy interfered with the resident’s right to peaceful and exclusive occupation of their dwelling.
This ruling, which was appealed by College, was upheld at further proceedings which took place on 22 January.
In a video posted to the TCDSU Instagram account, former TCDSU president Lászlo Molnárfi and current president Jenny Maguire announced the ruling.
Molnárfi, who is currently also an investigative reporter for Trinity News, said there were several consequences of this ruling, the most significant being that student tenants that have been denied entry of overnight guests in Trinity accommodation are now eligible for legal damages.
“The first consequence is that the policy is now invalid as that is the policy that students signed and that policy has been found to be in breach of tenant rights, so students can claim damages at the RTB if their guest is denied entry.”
He also noted this RTB decision could lead to the creation of a new overnight guest policy by Trinity.
“This could be the one [Jenny Maguire] and the SU is working on, which abolishes the overnight guest policy. We believe this is the one they will go for. Equally they could also explicitly state the ban on overnight guests and then that would also be ok as per the ruling, until of course a new challenge is brought”
Molnárfi additionally noted that this was the first time that the “Peaceful Occupation” clause was used for a student licensee and could set a precedent of action being taken against other student accommodation providers across the country
“This essentially opens up the possibility of other students in Ireland, in other student accommodations, bringing similar complaints to their private or public student accommodation providers”
Current TCDSU President, Jenny Maguire, said that the TCDSU “strongly welcomes” the RTB ruling.
“People should have peaceful occupation over where they live and this paternalistic policy that the Union has fought against, both under my tenure and of course former president László Molnárfi’s, we strongly welcome this and urge the College to take on the policy currently being taken on by the TCDSU/AMLCT and the accommodation office.”
The RTB tribunal in November had found that the current overnight guest policy interfered with the resident’s right to peaceful and exclusive occupation of their dwelling.
This right to peaceful and exclusive occupation of dwelling is laid out in the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which brought purpose-built student accommodation under its remit in an amendment act in 2019.
Trinity News have contacted College for comment.
