Tenant Rights in Ireland: Rent, Deposits, Notice and Eviction Rules

Renting in Ireland is governed by the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2026, and almost every part of the relationship between a landlord and a tenant, from registering the tenancy to reviewing the rent to resolving a dispute over a deposit, runs through one body: the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), not the courts. Knowing what the RTB does, and when to bring something to it, is the starting point for nearly every renting question in Ireland.

A major reform of Irish tenancy law took effect on 1 March 2026. It reset the rules for tenancies created from that date forward while leaving tenancies that already existed under the older system. The single fact that decides which rules apply to you is therefore the date your tenancy began, since it determines your notice periods, your security of tenure and the grounds your landlord can use to end the tenancy. Whether your landlord is a company or holds four or more tenancies, or is a smaller landlord with three or fewer, also changes what they are allowed to do.

This hub brings together five detailed guides on Irish tenant rights: the national rent cap that replaced Rent Pressure Zones, notice of termination, eviction rules, deposits and landlord obligations, and a general overview of tenant rights. Each is verified against the RTB and the revised Residential Tenancies Act.

Information last verified on 21 July 2026. This page presents general legal information, not legal advice.

Jurisdiction scope: This hub covers residential tenancies in the private rented and student-specific accommodation sectors in the Republic of Ireland, under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2026 and regulated by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). It does not cover Northern Ireland, which is a separate jurisdiction under UK law, and it does not cover local authority or approved-housing-body social housing tenancies, which follow separate rules. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

Before or after 1 March 2026? The date that decides your rights

The single most useful question a tenant or landlord can answer is when the tenancy began, because Ireland now runs two parallel systems.

A tenancy created on or after 1 March 2026 becomes a 6-year Tenancy of Minimum Duration once it has run for 6 months, and it renews automatically in further 6-year cycles rather than ending. A tenancy created before that date instead keeps its older Tenancy of Unlimited Duration and the broader termination grounds that came with it, including a landlord's ability to end it for an intention to sell within 9 months, substantial refurbishment, or a change of use. Our tenant rights overview sets out which regime covers which tenancy in more detail, and our guide to eviction rules walks through the grounds each regime allows.

The size of the landlord matters too, but only for tenancies created from 1 March 2026 onward. A landlord that is a company, or that holds four or more tenancies, can end a new tenancy only for tenant breach or because the dwelling no longer suits the household's needs. A smaller landlord, one with three or fewer tenancies who is not a company, can also end a new tenancy to sell where refusing would cause undue hardship, or to house themselves or an immediate family member, backed by a statutory declaration confirming their landlord status.

The Residential Tenancies Board: registration and disputes

The RTB sits at the centre of almost everything in this area of law. Landlords must register every tenancy with the RTB within 1 month of it starting and annually after that, at a standard fee of €40 a year, and the RTB keeps a public rent register that both sides can use.

When something goes wrong, the RTB, not the courts, is normally where it gets resolved. Mediation is free, adjudication costs €30 and a tribunal appeal costs €85, which makes the RTB an accessible first step for a deposit dispute, a disagreement over a rent increase or a challenge to a notice of termination. Our guide to deposits and landlord obligations covers what the RTB can and cannot order in a deposit dispute, and our tenant rights overview walks through the RTB's dispute process end to end.

Rent: the national cap that replaced Rent Pressure Zones

If you searched for Rent Pressure Zones, the system you are looking for no longer exists as a separate scheme. RPZs were abolished on 28 February 2026, and from 1 March 2026 a single national rent cap applies to every private and student-specific tenancy in the country: increases are limited to 2% a year or CPI inflation, whichever is lower, and rent can be reviewed at most once every 12 months.

A rent review notice must reach both the tenant and the RTB on the same day, at least 90 days before the new rent takes effect, or the increase is invalid. Newly built apartments and new student accommodation with a commencement notice on or after 10 June 2025 are capped by CPI inflation alone, with no 2% ceiling, and a market-rent reset requires the landlord to point to 3 comparable properties from the public RTB rent register. Our full guide to how the national rent cap replaced Rent Pressure Zones covers the newly built exception, the comparable-properties rule and what happens where an area only entered rent control shortly before the changeover.

Deposits and your landlord's other obligations

A landlord cannot ask for more than 1 month's rent as a deposit, and everything asked for upfront, deposit plus any advance rent, cannot exceed 2 months' rent combined. Ireland still has no deposit protection scheme: the deposit legislated for in 2015 was never brought into effect, so your landlord or agent simply holds the money themselves rather than a third party.

A rented home must also meet the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019, which cover heating, ventilation, and fire and carbon monoxide alarms among other requirements, enforced by the local authority rather than the RTB. Our guide to rental deposits and landlord obligations in Ireland covers lawful deductions, how quickly a deposit must be returned, and how to bring a deposit dispute to the RTB.

Ending a tenancy: notice periods

A landlord ending a tenancy in 2026 must give between 90 days, for a tenancy under 6 months, and 224 days, for one of 8 years or more, except in student-specific accommodation where only 28 days is required. A tenant ending a tenancy must give between 28 and 112 days depending on how long they have rented, or a flat 28 days in student-specific accommodation.

Shorter notice applies for cause: 28 days for rent arrears, but only after a written warning has been served on the tenant and copied to the RTB, or for other unremedied breaches, and just 7 days for serious anti-social behaviour. Since 28 February 2026, a landlord must also send the RTB a copy of the notice of termination on the same day it is served on the tenant, and a notice is invalid if that copy was not sent. Our full guide to notice of termination periods in Ireland sets out every notice length and the strict 90-day (or 28-day, for default notices) deadline to dispute a notice's validity at the RTB.

Grounds for eviction, and what happens if it goes wrong

Whether a landlord can end a tenancy at all, beyond the notice length, depends on the same March 2026 dividing line described above: larger landlords are limited to tenant breach or the dwelling no longer suiting the household, smaller landlords have some additional ownership-related grounds, and tenancies from before 1 March 2026 keep the older, broader grounds.

Eviction itself can only be carried out by the RTB or the courts. A landlord who changes the locks, removes belongings or cuts off electricity, gas or water to force a tenant out is acting illegally, and the RTB can award damages of up to €20,000 for an unlawful termination. After a no-fault termination, the landlord also cannot reset the next tenancy's rent to market level for two years, and must offer the home back to the former tenant if the reason for the eviction falls away. Our detailed guide to eviction rules in Ireland covers overholding, illegal eviction remedies, and the right to be offered your home back.

Guides in this section

• Tenant rights in Ireland: an overview
• Rent Pressure Zones are gone: the national rent cap explained
• Notice of termination: landlord and tenant notice periods
• Eviction rules: grounds, process and illegal evictions
• Rental deposits and landlord obligations

This section is part of our Ireland law hub, covering employment, inheritance, privacy and other areas of Irish law alongside renting.

Disclaimer

This hub presents general legal information about tenant rights in Ireland, verified on 21 July 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Irish tenancy law changed substantially from 1 March 2026 and continues to be amended, and how it applies depends on your specific tenancy and its start date. For advice on your situation, consult a solicitor, or contact the Residential Tenancies Board or Threshold, the national housing charity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the RTB and do I have to deal with it?

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is the state body that regulates almost all private residential tenancies in Ireland. Landlords must register every tenancy with the RTB within 1 month of it starting and annually after that, and most disputes, including deposit disagreements and challenges to a notice of termination, go to the RTB rather than the courts. Mediation is free and adjudication costs €30.

How much notice does my landlord have to give me before ending my tenancy?

In 2026, a landlord must give between 90 days, for a tenancy under 6 months, and 224 days, for one of 8 years or more, except in student-specific accommodation where 28 days applies. Shorter notice applies for cause: 28 days for rent arrears after a written warning, or 7 days for serious anti-social behaviour.

Can my landlord raise the rent, and by how much?

Since 1 March 2026, a single national rent cap applies to every private and student-specific tenancy in Ireland. Increases are limited to 2% a year or CPI inflation, whichever is lower, reviewed at most once every 12 months, and the rent review notice must be sent to both the tenant and the RTB at least 90 days before the new rent takes effect.

How much deposit can a landlord ask for in Ireland?

A landlord cannot ask for a deposit of more than 1 month's rent, and total upfront payments, deposit plus any advance rent, cannot exceed 2 months' rent. Ireland has no deposit protection scheme, so the landlord or agent holds the deposit directly rather than a third party.

What can I do if I am illegally locked out of my rented home?

Only the RTB or the courts can lawfully put an eviction into effect. Changing the locks, removing belongings or cutting off services to force a tenant out is illegal, and the RTB can award a tenant damages of up to €20,000 for an unlawful termination.

How long can I stay in my rented home in Ireland?

It depends on when your tenancy began. A tenancy created on or after 1 March 2026 becomes a 6-year Tenancy of Minimum Duration after 6 months and renews indefinitely in further 6-year cycles. A tenancy created before that date keeps its older Tenancy of Unlimited Duration and the broader termination grounds that applied to it.