Eviction Rules in Ireland (2026): Grounds, Process and Illegal Evictions

Ireland's eviction rules changed more in March 2026 than at any point since the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 was passed. Whether a landlord can end a tenancy now depends on two questions: when the tenancy was created, and how many tenancies the landlord holds.

This guide explains the termination grounds under the new regime, the older grounds that still apply to existing tenancies, the process from notice of termination through the RTB to court enforcement, and what the law says about overholding and illegal lockouts.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page is general legal information for the Republic of Ireland, not legal advice.

Which eviction rules apply to your tenancy?

Everything turns on one date: 1 March 2026.

A tenancy created before 1 March 2026 is a Tenancy of Unlimited Duration (or an older Part 4 tenancy that became one). The landlord can still rely on the pre-2026 list of termination grounds below, and the new smaller-landlord restrictions do not apply to it.

A tenancy created on or after 1 March 2026 works differently. After 6 months' occupation without a valid notice of termination, it automatically becomes a Tenancy of Minimum Duration (TMD) lasting 6 years, which then renews in further 6-year cycles indefinitely. What the landlord can do depends on whether they are a smaller or larger landlord. Our tenant rights overview sets out the full three-era security-of-tenure picture.

Whatever the era, the minimum notice periods are identical: 90 days for a tenancy under 6 months, rising to 224 days at 8 years or more. The full tables and validity rules are in our notice of termination guide, and the Ireland notice period calculator checks your dates.

Grounds for tenancies created before 1 March 2026

For these tenancies, any landlord, large or small, may terminate only on the established statutory grounds:

1. Tenant breach of obligations, including rent arrears (a written arrears warning served on the tenant and copied to the RTB first, giving 28 days to pay, then a 28-day notice) and other breaches (warning, then 28-day notice).
2. The dwelling no longer suits the tenant household's needs, for example on size grounds.
3. The landlord intends to sell within 9 months.
4. The landlord or an immediate family member needs the dwelling to live in. This ground is open only to private landlords: a company landlord has no family for this purpose and cannot use it.
5. Substantial refurbishment requiring vacant possession.
6. Change of use of the dwelling.

These grounds continue to apply to pre-March-2026 tenancies for their lifetime. The 2026 Act did not take them away from existing tenancies.

Who counts as a smaller or larger landlord?

The 2026 Act draws the line at ownership scale, and it is stricter than it first looks:

• A smaller landlord has 3 or fewer tenancies and is not a company.
• A larger landlord is a landlord under 4 or more tenancies, or any company, regardless of how few tenancies it holds. A company with a single rental is still a larger landlord.
• A single property split into 4 or more tenancies makes its landlord a larger landlord on its own.

The classification is tested on the day a notice is served. A tenant served notice by a supposedly smaller landlord can ask the RTB to confirm from the register how many tenancies that landlord actually held on the service date.

What can each landlord terminate for from 1 March 2026?

For tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026, the available grounds depend entirely on that classification:

The hardship sale test. A smaller landlord may sell mid-term only where refusing would cause undue financial or other hardship, and the Act sets out a closed list of three circumstances. The landlord must satisfy the RTB that one of the following applies:

1. the sale proceeds are needed to provide a principal private residence for the landlord, or for the landlord's spouse or civil partner;
2. the proceeds are needed for the landlord, or their spouse or civil partner, to discharge a debt or a Revenue payment of at least 15% of the expected sale price that is legally required to be paid within 9 months of the termination date; or
3. the landlord, or their spouse or civil partner, is in formal insolvency: they have appointed a personal insolvency practitioner, are adjudicated bankrupt or facing bankruptcy proceedings, have become an arranging debtor, or have made a composition or arrangement with creditors.

On top of one of those three, the RTB must be satisfied that refusing the sale would cause undue financial or other hardship on the landlord. Circumstances often loosely described as hardship, such as a marital separation or a landlord returning to Ireland from abroad, are not free-standing grounds. They count only if they fit inside one of the three statutory categories above.

Family need. During the 6-year term, 'immediate family' means a spouse or civil partner, a child (including a step, foster or adopted child), a parent, a step-parent, or a parent-in-law. At the end of a cycle the circle widens to add a grandchild, grandparent, brother, sister, nephew or niece.

End-of-cycle timing is strict. The notice must be served before the 6-year term expires, with the full notice period ending on or after the expiry date. Miss the window and the tenancy rolls into a fresh 6-year cycle.

Statutory declarations are mandatory. A smaller landlord using any ownership-based ground must attach a statutory declaration that, on the day of service, they are not a company and hold no more than 3 tenancies, plus a ground-specific declaration (hardship sale, family need, or end-of-cycle refurbishment or change of use).

The eviction process: from notice to enforcement

There is no self-service eviction in Ireland. The lawful path runs in four steps.

Step 1: a valid notice of termination. Correct day count for the tenancy's duration, in writing, properly served, with any required statutory declaration attached. Since 28 February 2026 the landlord must also serve a copy of the notice on the RTB on the same day it is served on the tenant. A notice served without that same-day copy is invalid, whatever else it gets right.

Step 2: an RTB dispute, if the tenant challenges. The tenant can refer the notice to the RTB, for example over a missing RTB copy, a wrong day count, a doubtful ground, or a landlord who does not truly qualify as smaller. Mind the deadline. A dispute about the validity of a notice must reach the RTB within 90 days of the date the tenant received it, or within 28 days where the notice was served for tenant default (arrears, breach or anti-social behaviour) or for landlord default. Once that window closes the RTB cannot take the referral at all.

Step 3: mediation, adjudication or tribunal. RTB mediation is free; adjudication costs €30 and averaged 20 weeks in 2025. An adjudication can be appealed to a three-member Tenancy Tribunal.

Step 4: a Determination Order, enforced through the courts. The order is legally binding. If the tenant still does not leave, the landlord enforces it through the courts, with the District Court the usual venue, never by acting alone.

What is overholding?

Overholding means staying in occupation after the termination date on a valid notice has passed. Even then, the landlord cannot remove the tenant personally: the remedy is an RTB dispute leading to a Determination Order, enforceable through the courts. For the tenant, overholding carries real risk, because an order can ultimately be enforced and rent remains payable throughout.

Illegal evictions and lockouts

An illegal eviction (unlawful termination) is any attempt to force a tenant out without a valid notice and, where disputed, an RTB determination. Classic examples: changing the locks, removing the tenant's belongings, or cutting off utilities.

A tenant facing this can bring an RTB dispute, and the RTB can order the landlord to let the tenant back in and award damages of up to €20,000. Separately, the RTB's investigations and sanctions unit polices 11 categories of improper conduct, including citing bogus termination grounds, with sanctions of up to €15,000 per improper conduct plus up to €15,000 in costs.

Your right to be offered the home back

If the reason for the eviction falls away, the landlord must offer you the tenancy again. The RTB describes four situations in which this right to reoccupy arises:

• Sale. The tenancy was ended so the landlord could sell, but no enforceable agreement for sale is signed within 9 months of the notice period ending.
• Use by the landlord or family. The landlord or a family member moved in, but the home is advertised to let again within 12 months of the notice period ending.
• Change of use. The use of the dwelling was changed, but it is let again within 12 months of the notice period ending.
• Refurbishment. The tenancy was ended for major works or upgrades, and the home is let again once the work is finished.

Leave the landlord your contact details when you go, because the offer has to reach you. If you were not offered the tenancy back when you should have been, refer a dispute to the RTB, which can award damages for abuse of the termination procedure. This is the practical remedy for the most common abuse on this page: a sale or family-need ground that was never genuine.

The anti-flip rule: a two-year bar on rent resets after a no-fault eviction

The 2026 regime removed most of the financial motive for eviction. Where a tenancy was ended because the landlord intended to sell, needed the home for themselves or a family member, or planned to change its use, the rent for a new tenancy in that dwelling cannot be reset to market level for two years from the termination. If a new tenancy starts inside that two-year window, the old capped rent carries over.

The bar is a two-year one, not a permanent one. A landlord who terminates on a no-fault ground and then leaves the dwelling unlet for two full years may lawfully set a market rent afterwards, because a dwelling in which no tenancy subsisted for two years is one of the defined reset windows. Different rules apply in student-specific accommodation. Combined with the national cap of 2% a year or CPI inflation (whichever is lower), a landlord gains little on rent in the short term by clearing out a sitting tenant. Our guide to rent caps and Rent Pressure Zones explains the rent rules in full, and the Ireland hub collects all our Irish law guides.

This page is general information about eviction and tenancy termination rules in the Republic of Ireland, not legal advice. Individual cases turn on their facts, and the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is the body that decides tenancy disputes. For advice on your own situation, contact the RTB, Threshold's Tenancy Protection Service (1800 454 454), or a solicitor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my landlord evict me to sell the house in Ireland?

It depends on when your tenancy was created and who your landlord is. For tenancies created before 1 March 2026, any landlord can terminate intending to sell within 9 months. For tenancies created on or after that date, a larger landlord cannot terminate to sell at all and must sell with tenants in place, while a smaller landlord can only do so during the 6-year term on one of three statutory hardship grounds, or freely at the end of a 6-year cycle.

What makes a landlord a 'larger landlord' in Ireland?

Holding 4 or more tenancies, or being a company of any size. A company with one rental property is still a larger landlord, and a single building containing 4 or more tenancies also makes its owner a larger landlord.

Can my landlord change the locks if I do not leave?

No. Lockouts, removing belongings and cutting off services are unlawful regardless of whether a valid notice was served. The RTB can order that you be let back in and can award damages of up to €20,000 for an unlawful termination.

How long does it take to evict a tenant in Ireland?

The notice period alone runs from 90 days (tenancy under 6 months) to 224 days (8 years or more), and just 7 to 28 days in serious breach cases. If the tenant disputes the notice, RTB adjudication took an average of 20 weeks in 2025, and court enforcement of a Determination Order adds further time.

My landlord evicted me to sell but re-let the property. What can I do?

You may have a right to be offered the tenancy back. That right arises where no enforceable sale agreement is signed within 9 months of the notice period ending, where the landlord or family moved in but the home is re-advertised within 12 months, where the use was changed but it is let again within 12 months, or where it is let again after a refurbishment. If you were not offered it back, refer a dispute to the RTB, which can award damages of up to €20,000.

Do the March 2026 eviction rules apply to my existing tenancy?

No. Tenancies created before 1 March 2026 keep the older termination grounds, including sale within 9 months, family need, refurbishment and change of use, and the smaller and larger landlord split does not apply to them.

What happens at the end of my 6-year tenancy cycle?

Nothing automatic. The tenancy renews for a further 6 years unless a smaller landlord serves a valid notice before the cycle expires, with the full notice period ending on or after the expiry date, relying on an end-of-cycle ground such as sale, refurbishment, change of use or wider family need.