The High Court has dismissed a 70 year old Dublin man’s bid to remain in the council-owned house that has been his family home since the 1950s.
Edward Lattimore applied to Dublin City Council to succeed his sister’s tenancy after she died in 2012, but his application was rejected. The council argued a three-bedroomed dwelling was not appropriate to the needs of a single person and offered him one-bedroom accommodation nearby. Mr Lattimore claimed that his mental health would be affected if he was forced to leave the house.
Mr Justice O’ Neill upheld the refusal. He found that the decision did not breach Mr Lattimore’s rights under the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. However he acknowledged the difficult choice that the Council had to make in relation to the decision. He was satisfied that the council had fulfilled its obligations to Mr Lattimore by providing him with suitable housing close to his home.
Click here to read a report on the case in the Irish Times. Mr Lattimore was represented by Clare Naughton of Northside Community Law Centre.
On a related note another Dublin law centre, Mercy Law Resource Centre, takes a number of housing-related public interest law cases. You can read a guest article by Solicitor in Charge Maeve Regan about some recent housing law cases here.