A NUMBER OF residents at an apartment complex have said they will not be leaving their homes after they were served with sudden eviction notices last week.

The tenants of eight apartments at the Fisherman’s Quay complex in Grove Island in Limerick city received eviction notices on Good Friday.

The eviction notices have been served by the tenants’ new landlords Munster Pensioner Trustees Ltd, as first reported by the Limerick Leader.

The Leader reports that Munster Pensioner Trustees Ltd acquired the properties earlier this year.

The affected apartments contain a mix of residents. Families with children, young teenagers, and old-age pensioners are among the mix.

The length of tenancies in the affected apartments are thought to range from about three years up to 13.5 years.

Speaking this morning on Limerick’s Live 95fm’s Limerick Today, one of the affected residents, Alan McCarthy – who has been living in the complex for three-and-a-half years with his son - said that he had been told he had to leave by 6 July.

McCarthy said that he was shocked when he received the notice.

“I found out about it on Good Friday,” he said.

“I… went to my mailbox and found my notice of termination.

And I was horrified obviously. I was swept over by nausea and I couldn’t stop getting sick. I wasn’t expecting it at all.

McCarthy had been paying €550 a month for rent (below market value) and said he didn’t think he would be able to find a new place to live.

“Something needs to be done right now,” he said.

I am out of options. I can just not afford to play ball. At the end of the day I’m going to be homeless… This is a complete mess for me.

Not leaving

Local Solidarity councillor Cian Prendiville said that tenants were determined not to comply with the eviction notices.

“The general feeling is that people don’t want to go. They want to fight it out,” he said.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney is due to visit Limerick on Monday, and Prendiville said the residents were going to request a meeting with him.

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Coveney welcomed the news in January that termination notices served on residents of The Strand apartments in Limerick City were withdrawn.

Prendiville said he hoped Coveney would assist the residents of Fisherman’s Quay, who were facing a similar problem.

He also called for the council to step in and purchase the apartments in order to protect the residents’ tenancies.

Munster Pensioner Trustees is an Irish company based in Limerick. It’s described as a company that provides administration services for self-administered pension share trusts.

The company told Limerick’s Live 95fm’s Limerick Today that it had no involvement in the investment decisions or day-to-day management of its assets.

It directed queries to Kirsten Mehl Property Management, a local management service.

Speaking on Limerick’s Today, Kersten Mehl he was acting on behalf of the company to sell the apartments.

He said that the rents had not been raised over the space of five years due to a receiver having been appointed in the past.