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Do I need a reason for ending a tenancy?

Tenancies that started on or after 11 June 2022

If the tenancy has lasted less than 6 months, you can ask your tenant to leave without giving a reason.

Once your tenant has lived in the property continuously for 6 months without a valid Notice of Termination being served within that period, they have security of tenure. This means they have the right to stay in the property indefinitely.

You can now only ask your tenant to leave for specific reasons. These are:

• The tenant breached the obligations in their tenancy agreement. For example, by not paying their rent.
• The property is no longer suitable for the tenant’s needs. For example, it is too small.
• You plan to sell the property within 9 months.
• You or an immediate family member need to live in the property. This only applies to private landlords.
• You plan to carry out substantial refurbishments to the property.
• You plan to change the use of the property, for example to convert it into an office.

Tenancies that started before 11 June 2022

For tenancies that started before 11 June 2022, there is only one circumstance where a landlord can terminate a Part 4 tenancy, which arises at the end of each Part 4 tenancy or Further Part 4 tenancy term.

Terminating a Part 4 or Further Part 4 tenancy at the end of the term

To legally end a Part 4 or further Part 4 tenancy at the end of the term, you must:

1. Provide your tenant with a written Notice of Termination.
2. State the reason why the tenancy is being terminated. The reason given does not have to be one of the 6 specific reasons outlined above.
3. Give them the correct notice period (which must end on or after the end of the Part 4 tenancy or Further Part 4 tenancy).
4. Make sure the notice meets legal requirements.
5. Send a copy of the notice to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) on the same day you send it to your tenant.

Special cases

• Student specific accommodation: Rules for ending a tenancy of unlimited duration don’t apply to student specific accommodation.
• Fixed term tenancies: If you have a fixed term tenancy agreement with your tenant, you cannot end the tenancy before the date you agreed unless the tenant has broken the terms of their agreement.

Notice periods

The notice you need to give depends on how long the tenancy has been in place.

Shorter notice periods

There are some cases where notice periods can be shorter:

• Breach of tenant obligations: You must first send them a warning notice that gives them a reasonable time to fix the issue. If the issue is not fixed, you can then send a Notice of Termination giving the tenant 28 days’ notice to end the tenancy.
• Serious anti-social behaviour by the tenant: or behaviour that threatens the structure of the property. You can end the tenancy with 7 days’ notice. You don’t need to serve a warning notice.
• Unpaid rent: you can also give a shorter notice period. Follow these steps:

1. Send a rent arrears warning notice with the amount they owe and give 28 days to pay.
2. Send a copy of the rent arrears warning notice to the RTB on the same day you send it to your tenant.
3. If the rent arrears are unpaid after 28 days, you can send a Notice of Termination giving the tenant 28 days’ notice to end the tenancy.

Find out more in our Notices of Termination guide.

Serving a Notice of Termination

You need to make sure that your Notice of Termination meets certain standards so that it is legally valid. A valid notice must:

• Be in writing (not by email)
• Be signed by the landlord or their authorised agent.
• Include the date the notice is sent. This is the date the notice is posted or hand delivered.
• Give the date the tenancy will end (and tell the tenant they have the full 24 hours on that day to leave the property).
• Give the reason you are ending the tenancy (if tenancy is over 6 months).
• Tell the tenant they have 28 days from the date of receipt of the notice to refer their case to the RTB if they believe the notice is not valid where there has been a breach of obligation by the tenant. New laws have increased this notice period to 90 days where there has been no breach of obligation by the tenant.
• Be sent to the RTB on the same day it is sent to the tenant. Failure to do so makes the notice invalid.

Accompanying statutory declarations or statements

A statutory declaration must accompany the Notice of Termination where:

• You intend to sell the property
• You or a family member want to live in the property.

A statement must accompany the notice of termination where:

• You are refurbishing or renovating the property
• You want to change the use of the property
• The property no longer suits the tenant’s accommodation needs.

Right to return to the property (opportunity to reoccupy)

A tenant must be given the right to return to the property if it becomes available to rent again after the tenancy was ended for any of the following reasons:

• Sale of the property: if you end the tenancy to sell the property but no agreement for sale is signed within 9 months of the end of the notice period.
• Use by landlord or family: If you or your family lived in the property but you put it up for rent again within 12 months of the end of the notice period.
• Change of use: If you changed the use of the property, but you put it up for rent again within 12 months of the end of the notice period.
• Refurbishment or renovation: if you ended the tenancy for major works or upgrades buy you put it up for rent after the work is completed.

RTB templates

The best way to be sure the notice is correct is to use the RTB templates. These also include the statutory declaration when needed.

Sending the Notice of Termination

You must send the Notice of Termination to your tenant and the RTB at the same time. If you don’t, it is not legally valid. We recommend you use certified post and keep proof of postage. You must also send an RTB Notice of Termination Return Form with a copy of the notice itself to the RTB. You can send this by post or email to NoticeofTermination@rtb.ie.

After the tenancy ends

If you have followed the above steps correctly, the tenancy will end on the date you set. Once your tenant leaves the property, you must return their deposit quickly. You can only keep some or all of the deposit if there is:

• Rent arrears
• Unpaid bills and charges (which the tenant was responsible for under the tenancy agreement)
• Damage beyond normal wear and tear

Ending tenancies when selling multiple properties (the ‘Tyrrelstown’ amendment)

If you are selling 10 or more properties in the same development within 6 months, special rules apply under what is known as the ‘Tyrrelstown’ amendment. These rules aim to protect tenants from losing their homes due to large-scale property sales. In these cases, a tenancy cannot be ended simply on the grounds of an intention to sell unless certain conditions are met.

Conditions for ending a tenancy

You can only end a tenancy in this situation if you can prove that:

• The property’s sale price with an existing tenant living in it is more than 20% lower than the market value if sold empty.
• Preventing the termination of the tenancy would be unduly onerous or would cause you undue hardship.

You must be able to prove this to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) before issuing a Notice of Termination.

Notice of Termination requirements

If the RTB decides a termination is allowed under the Tyrrelstown amendment:

• Each tenant must receive an individual Notice of Termination.
• A statutory declaration must accompany each notice, explaining the exemption being used.

Disputes about ending the tenancy

If there is a dispute about ending the tenancy, either party can contact the RTB dispute resolution service.