Bride-to-be Kildare nurse is 'scammed out of rental deposit'

Two Kildare medical nurses believe they have been scammed out of a €2,000 residential accommodation booking deposit.

The women have only able to make sporadic contact with the landlord and reputed owner of the residence, or his representative.  They leased the property for six months.

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They paid a monthly rent of €1,900 for the two bedroom home but the deposit has disappeared and there has been no reply to the mobile phone number provided by the landlord.

The apartment property is situated in the Kildare area and both of the women have come to County Kildare from Africa.

One of the nurses will return home shortly to get married and will be accompanied by her colleague and friend, who’ll also attend the ceremony.

They were initially provided with accommodation by a local man, who has highlighted their plight.

“Firstly they had to survive for eight weeks because it took that long for their work accreditation to come through, though they were not informed of this time lapse when they registered and applied for work.

“Then the landlord doesn’t answer their calls when they try to get their deposit back.”

He said the Residential Tenancies Board, which regulates the rental market, will not get involved because the property was not registered with it.

He added: “There may be others who are in a similar situation and have been similarly affected and because they are from outside the country they may be reluctant to complain or feel that they have no recourse. This could be much wider problem.”

The registration number of an SUV-type vehicle, believed to be used by the landlord has been forwarded to the gardaí, who have been asked to investigate.

 It’s understood that the gardaí have been in contact with them and are to take statements from them later this week

One of the nurses said they had been dealing with a purported agent and the landlord but both have become very difficult to contact.

It had been claimed on behalf of the landlord that the property was vacated in a damaged state - but she insists that a video showing the condition of the apartment when they moved  in has been provided by her to the landlord as evidence that the premises was not damaged.

The nurses, who work in a public hospital, have since moved to alternative accommodation in County Kildare.