Landlord Ordered to Repay Tenant $5,700 After Disputed Rent Hike That More Than Doubled Monthly Pay

A tenant has been handed a victory after taking his case to Ireland’s Residential Tenancies Board in Ireland. Bartosz Milinski took his case to the Residential Tenancies Board after claiming that his landlord increased his rent from €650 to €1,500 (or roughly $727 to $1,678 in U.S. dollars). 

The case was presented to the board after Milinski said that his landlord, Cllr Rita McInerney (Councillor of Clare County), increased his rent without having a valid reason, claiming that the increased amount didn’t actually represent the fair market rent, according to clare.fm. 

To complicate matters, McInerney later requested to have Milinski’s lease terminated so that she could move into the property. The news prompted quite a bit of backlash on Reddit, where people called McInerney a “scumbag” for ousting the tenant. 

While the tenant may be out of a place to live, the board did rule in his favor when it came to the overcharged rent, and McInerney was forced to pay him a tidy sum so he could recoup the extra costs. Here’s what we know. 

The Tenant Faced Multiple Rent Hikes

Councillor forced to pay back rent
by
u/Responsible_Steak462 in
Clare

The outlet reports that Milinski saw his rent increased multiple times while living in the Main Street, Doonbeg property. According to him, he began renting in April 2016 for $615 a month. His rent was increased to $727 in July 2019, and then it was increased again to $1,678 in June 2025.

Then in March 2026, McInerney filed a termination notice, requesting that Milinski move out of the property so that she could live there instead. The board ruled in Milinski’s favor during the case, telling McInerney that she would need to pay him roughly $5,705 within 28 days to reimburse him for the overcharged rent.

Unfortunately, the board did side with McInerney when it came to the termination of the lease, and Milinski was told that he could pay $727 per month (or $23.91 per day) until the property was vacated. 

Redditors Sided With the Tenant

McInerney didn’t win any friends on Reddit. A post about the story was shared to the local Clare subreddit, prompting a lot of people to share their frustration over the news. “They are so evil and greedy they don’t need the money; they happily force other hard-working people into poverty for their own gain,” one person commented.

Another person called her a scumbag in the comments, prompting someone to say that was a bit of a stretch. “What other word would you use to describe someone who takes advantage of a hard-working immigrant who comes here for a better life, pretends she’s one of the people,” they wrote. “She’s scum.”

While it’s not clear where Milinski will end up now that he’s been told he will have to move out of his Main Street home, hopefully he’s able to use the money that McInerney has been told to pay him as a deposit for somewhere just as nice so he doesn’t have to deal with too much disruption from all these changes.