Your main rights and responsibilities as a tenant come from landlord and tenant law, as well as from the lease or tenancy agreement you have with your landlord.
Residential tenancies legislation outlines most tenant’s rights and responsibilities. You can read a consolidated version of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 on the Law Reform Commission's website. This includes all the updates to the Act.
Leases or other tenancy agreements cannot take away from your rights under the legislation. However, you and your landlord can agree on things that are not covered by legislation in a lease or tenancy agreement, for example, who pays for the utility bills.
If you are renting a room in your landlord's home you are not covered by landlord and tenant legislation, though you are covered if you rent a self-contained flat in your landlord’s home. Read more in our page on sharing accommodation with your landlord.
If you are renting from an approved housing body (AHB), your tenancy comes under the residential tenancies legislation and you have most of the same rights that private tenants have. However, there are some differences:
Student-specific accommodation (SSA) is housing that is:
Tenants in student-specific accommodation are protected in residential tenancies legislation. They have most of the same rights as private tenants. For example, you can access the RTB’s dispute resolution process and your tenancy or licence arrangement must be registered with the RTB. However, there are some differences:
Find out more about your rights as a tenant in student-specific accommodation on the RTB’s website.
Security of tenure is a tenant’s right to stay in rented accommodation for a set amount of time. Generally, security of tenure applies automatically when you have been renting for 6 months and haven’t received a valid notice of termination from your landlord in that time. When you have security of tenure, your landlord can only terminate your tenancy for a limited number of reasons, see our page ‘If your landlord wants you to leave’.
The amount of time you are entitled to stay in rented accommodation after the first 6 months depends on when your tenancy began.
If your tenancy was created after 10 June 2022, you have a tenancy of unlimited duration. This means if you have rented somewhere for 6 months, you have the right to stay in that accommodation indefinitely (no end date), unless the landlord wants to terminate your tenancy for one of the allowed reasons.
If your tenancy was created before 10 June 2022, you have the right to stay in your rented accommodation for up to 6 years after you have rented for 6 months. At the end of these 6 years, your landlord can end your tenancy without giving a reason, as allowed under the old rules. But, if the landlord does not end your tenancy at this stage, it automatically becomes a tenancy of unlimited duration and has no end date.
You will probably have to pay a security deposit when you agree to rent a property. The landlord holds this deposit as security to cover any rent arrears, bills owing or damage beyond normal wear and tear at the end of the tenancy.
You cannot be forced to make upfront payments of more than 2 month’s rent. This includes a deposit of a month’s rent and one month’s rent in advance. This restriction applies to all tenancies created from 9 August 2021 and is set out in the Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021. Students in student-specific tenancies can opt-out of this restriction and pay a larger upfront payment if they want. However, this opt-out is only allowed if the student is paying rent and tuition to the same provider, such as a public or private educational provider.
Threshold provides useful tips on what to consider before you pay a deposit, including information on how to spot a scam. Your landlord must give you an inventory of the contents of the property. You should keep a record of the condition of everything that is listed, taking photos if possible, and agree this in writing with your landlord.
When you leave a property at the end of the agreed rental period or after giving the agreed notice, the landlord must return your security deposit, promptly and in full. Read Threshold’s advice on getting your deposit back.
However, if you leave before the end of the agreed period, the landlord may keep your deposit, even if you have given notice. (You may also be liable for the amount of rent due until the end of the lease, depending on what is stated in the lease agreement.)
The landlord may keep part or all of the deposit in the following situations:
The landlord cannot hold your possessions against money you owe, but they can apply to the RTB if they feel that your deposit does not cover rent arrears or the cost of damage to the property.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 provides for a tenancy deposit protection scheme, where the RTB would manage and hold deposits for tenants and landlords. These provisions are not yet in effect.
You should note that it may be more difficult to assert your rights if you have broken conditions of your tenancy.
The owner (your landlord) is responsible for paying the Local Property Tax to Revenue. There may be an agreement that you will pay this amount, but your liability will be to the landlord and not to Revenue.
The terms of your letting agreement will detail if you have to pay for services such as heating, electricity, gas or TV connections. In practice, if you are renting a house, you will probably pay for all these charges.
Multi-unit developments
In some multi-unit developments, such as apartment complexes, the heating may be operated centrally and you may not have to pay separately for it. In some complexes, cable TV may be supplied. In most complexes, bin collection is organised by the management company and you may not have to pay charges for this.
There are annual charges in multi-unit developments to pay for:
Your landlord may pass these charges on to you if this is agreed, but if they are not paid, the owners’ management company will pursue the owner for them.
If your landlord’s mortgage is in arrears and the mortgage lender has appointed a receiver, you must pay the rent to the receiver. But, the landlord remains legally responsible for matters such as returning your deposit. The receiver may arrange to carry out repairs.
Read more in Banking and Payments Federation Ireland’s Residential Tenant’s Guide to Receivership (pdf).
You will be able to claim a Rent Tax Credit of €500 a year, if you pay rent for private rented accommodation. The credit will be available for 2022 until 2025. You will be able to claim the credit for rent paid in 2022 in early 2023, and during the year for subsequent years.
If your landlord lives outside the State, you must deduct tax for the rent and account for it to Revenue.
Read more about these tax issues in our page tax relief and other tax issues for people renting.
If you feel your rights as a tenant have been broken, you have a number of ways to correct this. Our page on resolving disputes between landlords and tenants describes several options. These include taking your case to the Residential Tenancies Board, which provides a dispute resolution service for private, AHB and student-specific tenancies. Or contacting the RTB’s investigations and sanctions unit to make a complaint about a landlord breaking residential tenancies legislation.
Threshold provides a free advice and information service to tenants.
If your landlord is not maintaining the property to the proper standards you can contact your local authority, which is responsible for enforcing standards in rented housing.
The RTB has published a Good Landlord/Tenant Guide (pdf) with information for landlords and tenants. The RTB's website has further useful resources and a webchat facility.
The FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) website has a leaflet (pdf) on the basic rights and duties of landlords and tenants.
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