Elderly residents facing threat of ‘eviction’ from Limerick retirement village

DOZENS of elderly residents have been told to expect steep rent hikes at their retirement village – with two facing “eviction”.

There is fury among residents at the Park Retirement village in Castletroy, after letters were sent from the new landlords of the property informing them of rent rises.

And in a move described as “scandalous,” two of these people have been told they will need to move next summer.

“It’s a grave injustice to the elderly of the country who have put the country together in the first place,” said one resident, Anne Mooney.

More than 70 people were present at a meeting on site this week, where residents agreed to fight the termination of tenancies and rent hikes through an appeal to the Residential Tenancies Board.

The vast majority of those present told the Limerick Leader they had received letters telling them of an increase in their living cost.

One of the women facing the end of her tenancy, due to the fact her bungalow is being refurbished, is Liz Lynam, who has lived in the Park retirement village for almost 10 years.

She says she has been told a new apartment may be made available for her – but it will end up costing 20% more than what she’s paying at present.

Having received the notice of termination on Halloween night, she said: “I was just in shock. It’s only in the last days I have realised the implications and what it means to my life.

The implication is if I choose to move out, I’m going to some other part of the village to pay a bigger rent which is hard to come by.

“All of us here are on limited incomes.”

The reason she was asked to move out was so her property could be “refurbished”.

Ms Lynam believes it will see the bungalow sub-divided into a number of apartments.

In a statement, the committee of the Castletroy Park Retirement Village Residents’ Association say services to those living in the facility – opened in 2008 – have been “curtailed or removed, causing great insecurity and distress to older residents”.

These, they claim, include 24-hour security services, reduced down to mobile patrols, the loss of an on-site car taker, as well as the elimination of a clubhouse co-ordinator which provided activities for those present.

“Activities such as art, music and Zumba had been provided free of charge, but are now at the residents’ expense,” the statement claims.

“This appears to suggest that the scope of the village has already changed in a manner which is less favourable towards older people. Naturally, this is extremely disturbing for the existing retired, elderly residents.”

Antoinette McEnnis is the second resident facing eviction, from her two bedroom apartment, also on the basis of a need for refurbishment from the landlord.

She said: “It’s just shock. I never expected this at all. I feel elderly people are very vulnerable in this day and age. The last thing we need is this uncertainty.”

Ms Mooney said her rent is to rise from February 1 next.

“But there is no increase in the old-age pension. People who are depending on what they have now have nowhere to go in regard of finances.

“They had sold up their homes and this was their final stop. It’s just not realistic to see it taken from under us,” she told the Limerick Leader.

Marie Byrnes, who provides dancing and music at the facility in the shadow of the Castletroy Park Hotel, said the atmosphere is flat among residents.

“The feeling is so depressing. Everybody is on tenterhooks. I’m so sad. This could be your mother, my mother, my Dad, your Dad,” she said.

Another occupant of the facility Phil Burton said: “Two people have been given notice of eviction with no good reason, and that is the most important point.”

In a statement released to the Limerick Leader, the owners of the Castletroy Park Retirement Village said significant work is required to raise the development to a “satisfactory standard”.

”Regrettably, a small number of residents will be impacted by these works to a greater degree than others, necessitating their having to transfer from their units to alternative unit located within the village,” the statement read.

On the issues around activities raised by the residents committee, the owners pledged these would be addressed during the course of consultations.

“The aim being to reverse a vacuum caused by the retirement and death of two key service personnel,” they added.