Marc Godart
Also known as: RTB cases involving Godart have often appeared with the landlord listed as Green Label Property Investments or Green Label Short Lets Ltd, and in one case as Itzig Sarl.
Linked to 52 companies in Ireland, several more in Luxembourg
A lot has been written about Marc Godart in the last few years. He’s become a posterboy in the Irish media for bad landlords, representing “the dysfunctional Irish rental market and the powerlessness of tenants”.
The origins of controversial landlord Marc Godart’s rental empire - Irish Times (archive version)
Originally from Luxembourg, a 25-year-old Marc Godart came to Ireland in 2014 on the hunt for bargains. Ireland was in the depths of a recession, banks were not lending, so it was very difficult for most people to buy property. “Distressed” properties were going cheap, if you had the cash to buy them.
Godart’s family did have money, which he used to set up his first Irish company Green Label Property Investments Limited, and buy properties that he then rented out.
The Godart family own Luxembourg-registered property companies Itzig Sarl, Syren SA, Hesper SA and Marede Sci. Hesper SA and Itzig Sarl appear to fund many of Marc Godart’s Irish companies. Itzig Sarl also owns several Irish properties outright.
For a few years, Godart’s property business ticked along relatively quietly. He rented properties to residential and commercial tenants around Dublin City and the South Dublin suburbs, in Borrisokane and Cashel in Co. Tipperary and in counties Cork and Wexford.
Tenant experiences
In 2024, one of Godart's former employees came forward to speak to journalists about how he ran his property business, confirming what anyone familiar with Godart’s work suspected: He knowingly and specifically targets people newly arrived to Ireland, unfamiliar with their rights and unlikely to object.
Some 16 RTB cases over these years give an insight into his vicious temper combined with a ruthless and hyper-exploitative attitude to his tenants.
Godart’s tenancy management methods include:
- Using CCTV cameras to spy on his tenants - in the common areas inside the property
- Letting himself into the house, unannounced
- Inspecting the house "every few weeks"
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0921-005105 / Case Ref No: 0521-69405 - RTB
- Insisting that rent is paid in cash
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0621-004979 / Case Ref No: 0421-68839 - RTB
- Neglecting to give tenants a written lease agreement, even when they ask for one
- Using some rooms as AirBnb/short-term holiday rentals while longer-term tenants are living there - the AirBnb “guests” are allowed to use all the tenants’ kitchen appliances, and the long-term tenants pay for any electricity they use
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0123-005911 / Case Ref No: 0822-79062 - RTB
- Moving into a property himself, while tenants are living there - presumably to keep an eye on them
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0921-005105 / Case Ref No: 0521-69405 - RTB
- Evicting tenants who object to overcrowding
- Hiring security staff to evict tenants, if they refuse to leave when given an invalid notice
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0123-005911 / Case Ref No: 0822-79062 - RTB
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0621-004979 / Case Ref No: 0421-68839 - RTB
- Renting out properties he doesn’t actually own, often without the knowledge of the owners
Landlord used rooms for Airbnb with tenants still in house - Irish Times (archive version)
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0121-004634 / Case Ref No: 0820-63751 - RTB
- Claiming not to be the landlord when he's hauled up before the RTB
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0921-005105 / Case Ref No: 0521-69405 - RTB
- Refusing to pay compensation to tenants until they take him to court.
As one tenant put it, living in a Marc Godart property is “complete hell”.
Report of Tribunal Reference No: TR0621-004979 / Case Ref No: 0421-68839 - RTB
In an article in The Irish Times, an acquaintance of Godart described his decisions as always purely financial: “The output of that could appear to be cruel to a tenant, but it’s probably a very clinical business decision.”
The Luxembourg family behind an Irish property empire - Irish Times (archive version)
Reading the RTB cases gives a very different impression however - rather than a clinical, calculated businessman, he comes across as a very controlling individual, somewhat paranoid, with a mean temper.
Airbnb/short-term holiday lettings business
In April 2023, Godart evicted several tenants from Reuben House in Dublin 8, telling them he was selling the apartments. Shortly afterwards, their old rooms were listed on Airbnb for short-term stays: €100-a-night for a bunk-bed in a shared dorm and €280 for a private double room.
Godart then applied for permission to change the use of the entire property to a “16-bedroom aparthotel”
Sadly, the tenants being evicted barely caused a ripple for most people in Dublin. But the fact that Godart was running a holiday letting business - an aparthotel, if you will - from 16 former long-term homes hit the headlines.
Local Councillor Darragh Moriarty commented:
"I can't really get my head around a proposal that seeks to take existing apartments out of the market to replace them with short-term visitor accommodation in the middle of a housing crisis."
'I can't get my head around proposal to turn Dublin 8 apartments into hotel' - Dublin Live
Godart’s application to legally change the property to an aparthotel was rejected, and Dublin City Council issued an enforcement notice ordering the “cessation of the unauthorised use of the property”.
Fire safety breaches
He narrowly avoided a criminal conviction for breaking fire safety laws: he'd renovated a commercial property in Dublin 1 but omitted basic fire safety measures like a fire alarm system and viable escape routes.
This shortsighted disregard for the safety of the people he profits off of is typical Godart.
Firm linked to landlord marc godart spared criminal conviction over fire safety breaches
The patron saint of bad landlords
After this, there were reams of articles written about Godart throughout 2023 and 2024.
Former tenants were interviewed at length about their bad experiences renting from him.
An Irish Times journalist doorstepped his father René Godart at the family home in Luxembourg and was told “I’m not interested… ask my son, he’s in Ireland, not me.”
RTE Investigates did a piece about how many AirBnb listings he was currently offering - over 100, “with 17 beds in one apartment, including four in one room”.
The Luxembourg family behind an Irish property empire - Irish Times (archive version)
Landlord has over 100 Airbnb listings despite city-wide ban - RTE
Godart’s own landlord troubles were reported on gleefully, when the landlord of a house he was renting in Dublin 8 objected to him also renting out some of the rooms on Airbnb. The landlord told the Irish Times:
“It’s just galling that he can go and throw 45 people out of their apartments by forced eviction while we are doing everything for him legally.”
Luxembourg landlord fights eviction from Dublin house he rents - Irish Times (archive version)
This hand-wringing about how bad one particular landlord is rings really hollow when you look at the absolutely broken housing system that allows him to carry on like this.
At the end of 2023 there were 13,154 people registered as homeless in Ireland, which was an increase of over 13% since 2022.
Homelessness - The Housing Agency
Godart has certainly done his bit to make quite a few people homeless, but even he couldn’t cause that much homelessness.
Interestingly, he behaves this way to commercial tenants too: in 2024 it emerged he was renting 2 separate buildings in Dublin city centre from landlords himself, and subletting them to migrants running small businesses.
Marc Godart used CCTV to monitor business tenants’ commission system - Irish Times (archive version)
When news broke that he was subletting buildings to commercial tenants, the actual owners of these buildings evicted him.
A spokesman for the owner of one of these buildings, Richmond Gate Ltd, said:
“The problem is he is messing people around and he is charging them an awful lot more money than they would pay if they were dealing directly with landlords. I don’t know how he gets the inflated rents that he gets.”
In other words, this landlord doesn’t like Marc Godart because he gives landlords a bad name.
A man like Godart will do whatever he wants, once he thinks he can get away with it. And despite the RTB cases and negative press, he continues to get away with most of his antics, as the broken housing system in Ireland allows it. The occasional RTB fine for someone with this much money is a mere slap on the wrist.