'Landlord said we'd have to move out when I told him we were having a baby'

Tribunal told tenant feared losing her child due to impact of moving

- SEAN McCARTHAIGH

A WOMAN and her husband were asked to leave their rented apartment after telling the landlord she was pregnant, the Workplace Relations Commission heard. 

Megan Kenna, claimed she and her husband Waina were informed they could not stay in their second-floor property at Howth, North Co Dublin, on April 9 last year.

The business development executive claimed she was discriminated against on grounds of family status and gender by their landlord Brendan O’Brien under the Equal Status Act.

Her lawyer, Michael Kinsley BL, also said the landlord’s actions amounted to unlawful harassment.

Mr O’Brien’s solicitor Colm Hickey rejected the claims and stressed his client was concerned that there was a “health and safety issue”.

He said a spiral staircase leading to the apartment at Island View, Harbour Road, was “wholly unsuitable” for a pregnant woman and children.