Brian O'Gorman

The Abhaile Project aims to help older homeowners modify their family-sized homes to create a new rental unit. The first house conversion commenced in September.

During the early stages of development, The Abhaile Project approached PILA for assistance with legal questions concerning the relationship between the homeowner and the renter.

Through the Pro Bono Referral Scheme, Arthur Cox provided a range of advice to ensure the design of the rental unit would fall under the rent-a-room scheme, on the licence agreement and the impact on inheritance rights.

Michelle Moore, founder of The Abhaile Project, said: “The intervention of PILA and the willingness of Arthur Cox to provide pro bono legal support has been a key milestone along our path. The availability of specialist legal expertise was essential in helping us to develop our innovative new housing solution. We are incredibly grateful for the generous support provided to us.”

Brian O’Gorman, managing partner at Arthur Cox, added: “As part of the firm’s on-going commitment to providing access to pro bono work, Arthur Cox was pleased to provide legal advice on The Abhaile Project.

“One of the key pillars of the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme is pro bono work. To assist with this commitment we have worked with PILA over the last number of years on the Pro Bono Referral Scheme.

“The objective is to connect with high impact projects like The Abhaile Project that create real social change.”