Forty students have been left waiting since September for their deposits - worth a total of €20,000 - to be returned to them from a private student accommodation complex in North Dublin.

Students have been waiting for the return of their €500 deposits since they moved out of Block A apartments in Hazelwood at the beginning of September.

Forty students decided to move out of the accommodation when they were notified at the start of August that rent would be increasing by 41pc - from €440 to €620 a month for a twin room.

The tenants were then given the option of moving out in 28 days, by September 7.

While the tenants were promised that their deposits would be returned by the second week of September, they still haven’t received them.

The students said they were "very frustrated" by the lack of action.

“They sent us a letter saying that rent would increase by over 40pc for the same room,” said Ana Carolina Solis, one of the students affected.

“This is totally insane and no-one wanted to pay the new fee, and we were panicked, because they gave us three weeks to find new accommodation.

“It’s very hard to find accommodation in Dublin in just three weeks. At first, I thought the price changes were a mistake,” she said.

Ms Solis moved out and said that she was promised that her deposit would be returned in two weeks.

“I sent emails to them weeks after week and the response is always the same - that they’ll pay next week or the week after that or that there was no-one in the office that could give an answer.”

Hazelwood student accommodation is managed by Home Estates and Lettings Agency. The tenants from Block A said that all of their communication in relation to their accommodation was with the staff of Home Estates and Lettings.

When contacted, Hazelwood Student Village said that the delay in returning of deposits was due to the poor state of the apartments when tenants moved out.

“Due to apartments being left in a bad state when students departed recently, some deposits have been delayed being returned until we could identify who had left the rooms in a bad state of repair. All deposits will be returned early next week,” a spokesperson said.

They added that “deposits are in fact passed for payment and will most likely arrive with departed students tomorrow and Monday”.

Expand Close Ana Carolina Solis was a resident in Hazelwood student village. / Facebook

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“The deposits in question are held by the Landlord of Hazelwood Student Village,” said Carl Gibney, the owner and director of Home Estates.

“As of 31st October 2019, Home Estates has not yet received the deposits from the Landlord in order to return them to the students.”

Kazim Ersoz lived in the same apartment as Ms Solis in Block A. He said that he’s also been promised many times that his deposit will be returned.

“We’ve waited three months now. Last week, I went to Hazelwood and I started asking questions and none of the staff would answer any of my questions.

“It’s very frustrating and €500 is a lot of money.”

According to the Residential Tenancies Board, a deposit does not have to be returned on the day a tenant leaves accommodation, however "the landlord must return the deposit promptly. Time should be allowed for an inspection at the end of a tenancy, and for any repairs or cleaning to be carried out”



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