Interesting RTB case report in the context of this issue -
The complainant in this case had proof that the tenants in the flat above her had been evicted as the building was to be sold, but the landlord had rented their apartment out to new tenants. She thought this was evidence that he didn’t intend to sell.
The landlord said the buyers didn’t want long-term tenants in place. He argued that he did plan to sell, and that he would only have to give the new tenants 28 days’ notice, whereas he would have had to give longer-term tenants more notice.
The adjudication report from the RTB, issued on 30 March, accepted the landlord’s explanation. It says: “
The Applicant has failed to prove that the Respondent lacks a good faith intention to sell the property.”
“The basic principle is that the burden of proof would lie with the person asserting that the thing that was supposed to be done, on foot of the notice, was not actually done,” says a spokesperson for the RTB.
It is up to the applicant who is challenging the eviction notice to demonstrate that the notice isn’t valid. To do that they have to show that the landlord isn’t selling, he says.
https://www.dublininquirer.com/2017/08/09/landlords-use-evictions-to-skirt-cap-on-rent-rises-tenants-say/