Landlord evicted couple over a lie — their PI posed as delivery man 30 times and exposed the lie in court

After a landlord tells their tenant that their kid needs the apartment for college, they don't have much of a choice but to pack their bags and leave. But when Sean Murray and his partner, Aisling Judge, were told to vacate their Ballsbridge home on Anglesea Road for that exact reason, the story felt off. A quick search showed them the truth. The owner's daughter had finished school ten years ago and already worked full time. Suspecting the eviction was really payback for an earlier dispute over their elderly terrier, Murray hired a private investigator. They staked out the house for two months, gathering enough proof to take the landlords, Sinead Ryan and Niall Bleahen, to court, as reported by the Irish Times on October 27, 2026.

Dispute and eviction notice

Friction began when a newly appointed property management firm stepped in and targeted Murray and Judge's 11-year-old terrier. Even though the couple had acquired explicit written permission previously to house the senior dog, the agents attempted to strip that consent away. Naturally, they pushed back against this sudden rule change. What they didn't know at that time was that this would unravel their living arrangement. Shortly after, in September 2025, the landlords served them an eviction notice.

The document arrived just a week after CAO college offers went out, claiming the Anglsea Road home was required for their daughter. That is because it was in close proximity to University College Dublin. Although most tenants would've bought this story, Murray didn't. Instead, he looked up Ryan and Bleahen's daughter on the internet. There he found that not only had their daughter passed out of college 10 years ago, but she worked a full-time job. Still, with time against them, the couple had to vacate the premises.

Hasty departure under strain

The sudden relocation dealt a heavy blow to their vacation plans. Moreover, Judge’s father was due to stay with them while receiving medical care for cancer. Murray later told the hearing that the forced move added severe “stress and disruption” during what was already an exceptionally vulnerable period. Convinced the eviction rested on dishonest claims, Murray engaged licensed private investigator James Boyle to monitor the house.

Keeping a close eye

Boyle staked out the empty residence not once or twice but roughly 30 times between October and November. He did so by staging fake delivery attempts to see if anyone answered. However, apart from two isolated dates with lights switched on and a car parked outside, he confirmed that the property remained unoccupied. That was it. Following this personal investigation, Murray and Judge brought their case before the Residential Tenancies Board. There they sought reimbursement for their moving costs and formal recognition of the ordeal.

Tribunal Awards Tenant Damages

A few days after filing the dispute, Murray noted activity suddenly appeared at the house. This further bolstered the couple's case. So, it didn't take long for the tribunal to determine there was "no evidence" the landlord's daughter ever inhabited the house. They ruled that the notice was driven by an "ulterior motivation" linked to the recent pet dispute. Finding in favor of the tenants, the RTB ordered Ryan and Bleahen to pay €837.90 ($932.13) to cover moving expenses, alongside an additional €500 ($556.23) in damages.

The false eviction crisis

In the United States, false evictions just like the one this couple suffered are on the rise. According to a study published on Taylor & Francis Online, more than 3.6 million administrative eviction cases were filed across 12 states over several years. What's worth noting is that, of these cases, 22% were found to have ambiguous information regarding the eviction. Meanwhile, another study, the American Housing Survey from 2017, noted that 72.3% of evictions across the United States were informal ones.

More compensation needed

People were not happy with the final verdict. They took to a Reddit post by u/Fair-Dress703 to express their thoughts. u/DrZaiu5 wrote, "It's great that they found in favor of the tenants, but let's be honest, this amount of damages is in no way enough to discourage this kind of behavior. A tenant should not have to hire a private investigator to check whether an eviction notice was legitimate. The book needs to be thrown at landlords who attempt this type of deception." While u/ZenBreaking noted, "A fine is just a cost of business expense."

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