Harbison v Harbison

Landlord wins · Inverary · 2025-05-29

Adjudicator

Kimberly Parish

Dispute

Jurisdiction

Landlord

B.H., J.H.

Tenant

M.H.

Landlord rep

Shasta Pearson

What happened

The Applicants, parents of the Respondent, filed an application to determine if the Residential Tenancies Act applies to the living arrangement with their daughter. The daughter has resided in the property since 2013, paying for some utilities but no formal rent. The Applicants argued it is a personal family arrangement, not a tenancy. The Respondent was absent from the hearing.

The ruling

The Board granted the Landlords' application, ruling that the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 does not apply to this living arrangement. The decision was based on the finding that no rent was being paid by the Respondent to the Applicants, and therefore no landlord-tenant relationship existed. The arrangement was characterized as a personal, family relationship.