Cuirfear aistriúchán ar fáil go luath

Ár leithscéal as an míchaoithiúlacht. Cuirfear aistriúchán Gaeilge ar an leathanach seo ar fáil go luath. Go raibh maith agat as do chuid foighneachta agus muid ag obair ar leagan uasdátaithe.

Landlord rights and responsibilities

Who is a landlord?

A landlord is someone who is entitled to receive the rent for a property under a tenancy agreement. The property must be self-contained residential unit (unless it is student specific accommodation).

A landlord can be:

  • An individual
  • A company
  • A university or private provider of Student Specific Accommodation
  • An Approved Housing Body (AHB), also called Housing Associations, which are not-for-profit organisations that mainly provide social housing
  • A trustee of a trust

As a landlord, it is important that you know your rights and responsibilities. Your main rights and responsibilities come from rental law, as well as from any tenancy agreement (written, spoken or implied) between you and your tenant(s). A tenancy agreement cannot take away the rights and responsibilities of a landlord or tenant under rental law.

Landlord rights

As a landlord, you have the right to:

  • Set the rent in line with rental law. If your property is in a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ), rent increases must comply with legal limits.
  • Receive rent in full and on time.
  • End the tenancy in the first 6 months without reason, unless a fixed-term lease is in place. After 6 months, a tenancy can only be ended for specific legal reasons.
  • Know who is living in the property and to decide if subletting or assignment is allowed. Subletting or assignment is not allowed in Approved Housing Body or student specific accommodation tenancies.
  • Be told about necessary repairs and to access the property with reasonable notice to fix them.
  • Refer disputes to us if the tenancy is legally registered.

Landlord responsibilities

Landlords must:

  • Allow the tenant to have peaceful and exclusive occupation of the property, which means you can only enter the property with the tenant’s permission, except in an emergency.
  • Complete necessary repairs within a reasonable time or refund the tenant for essential repairs they arranged. Expenses must be reasonable and you should get receipts.
  • Provide suitable bins for rubbish and waste outside the property, where possible.
  • Insure the structure of the property but tenants should arrange their own contents insurance.
  • Return the deposit in full as soon as possible at the end of the tenancy, unless you need to make deductions for unpaid rent, bills, or damage beyond normal wear and tear.
  • Provide tenants with your contact details or for your agent.
  • Forward the management company of the property any written complaint about it from the tenant and provide any response to the tenant.
  • Set rent correctly for tenancies in a Rent Pressure Zone and provide your tenant with details of the last rent amount set for the property, the date it was last set and how their rent was calculated using the RTB’s RPZ calculator. Find out more about setting and reviewing rent in an RPZ.
  • Register the tenancy within one month of the start date and annually on the anniversary of the start date.
  • Give your tenant a rent receipt or statement acknowledging rent payments.
  • Make sure the property is in good condition and meets minimum standards.
  • End the tenancy in line with the law and give proper notice.
  • Give tenants notice of any property inspections.
  • Comply with anti-discrimination laws. You cannot refuse to rent to someone based on gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, receipt of state housing payments (for example HAP), or membership of the Traveller community.

Moving-in checklist

We have prepared a handy checklist to help landlords set their tenancy up for success and to avoid future problems. You can view our landlord’s moving-in checklist.

Resolving disputes

When rental rights and responsibilities are not respected by a landlord or tenant, the other party can refer the issue to the RTB for formal dispute resolution.

Many disputes can be resolved early with self-resolution through informal discussion with your tenants.

If you cannot resolve the issue on your own, you can refer the issue to us for formal dispute resolution.