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On 11 June 2022, Tenancies of Unlimited Duration were introduced into law. providing more security of tenure for tenants. This change provides more security of tenure for tenants. It means that, after six months living in a tenancy, the tenant will have a right to remain in the property for an unlimited duration. This is subject to the tenant upholding their rental obligations and the landlord’s right to end the tenancy in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (RTA).
Key changes:
- The security of tenure given to tenants under the RTA (known as ‘Part 4’ tenancy rights) used to operate in 6 year cycles. A landlord had the right to terminate a tenancy on the permitted termination grounds set out in the RTA but also at the end of every 6-year cycle for any reason (see here for more information).This is no longer the case where there is a tenancy of unlimited duration. A landlord can only end these tenancies where the landlord serves a valid notice relying on the permitted termination grounds.
- All new tenancies created on or after 11 June 2022 will automatically become Tenancies of Unlimited Duration when the tenant has lived in the rental property for six consecutive months and a valid notice of termination has not been served.
- Tenancies already in existence before 11 June 2022, will continue under the existing security of tenure rules until the end of the current six-year cycle of the tenancy. The landlord is still entitled to end these tenancies at the end of the six-year period for any reason by serving a notice of termination before the end of the current 6 year period, where the notice period expires after that date. In most cases however it is likely that the parties will want the tenancy to continue and in these circumstances the tenancy will become a tenancy of unlimited duration at the end of the current 6 year cycle. Then the tenancy may only be terminated by the landlord by relying on one of the permitted termination grounds as set out in the RTA.
- If, on the 11 June 2022 a tenancy was already in existence, landlords are encouraged to switch from a six-year cycle to a Tenancy of Unlimited Duration, without waiting for the end of the current 6 year period. The landlord can do this by completing the tenancy of unlimited duration consent notice below and serving it on the tenants.
Exceptions
Tenants (and licensees) of student specific accommodation and tenants in other limited circumstances are not protected by ‘Part 4 tenancy’ rights. Therefore changes introduced by Tenancies of Unlimited Duration do not impact student specific accommodation.
Click here for further details on security of tenure.
Helpful Questions and Answers
All new tenancies created on or after 11 June 2022 will become Tenancies of Unlimited Duration automatically. This will happen, if the tenant has lived in the rented property for six consecutive months without a valid Notice of Termination being served. If these conditions are met, the tenant then has the right to stay in the property for as long the tenant wishes. The landlord can only end the tenancy on one of the permitted reasons for ending a tenancy listed above.
No, not straight away but eventually all tenancies will become Tenancies of Unlimited Duration.
For tenancies in place prior to 11 June 2022 the old rules still apply. This means that when the current six-year cycle of the tenancy is coming to a close, the landlord can end the tenancy for any reason without having to rely on one of the permitted reasons for ending a tenancy (listed above). However, if the tenancy does not end at this point it automatically becomes a Tenancy of Unlimited Duration.
Yes, but only with the landlord’s consent. A tenant can seek the consent of their landlord to have their tenancy converted to a Tenancy of Unlimited Duration without having to wait until the end of its six-year cycle. However, the landlord does not have to give their consent.
Where consent is not given, the legal protections that were in place prior to 11 June 2022 will continue to apply.
The Residential Tenancies Board intends to create a template notice for landlords that they can download from its website and complete to inform tenants that the landlord consents to the tenancy becoming a Tenancy of Unlimited Duration. The notice will include information for the landlord and tenant to explain the effect of the landlord giving such consent. The notice is available to download below,
By June 2028, all tenancies will have become Tenancies of Unlimited Duration. By this date all existing six-year cycle tenancies will have ended.
Yes, the landlord does not have to give a reason as to why the tenancy is ending if a tenancy has lasted less than 6 months.
No, the new legislation does not impact on a tenant’s responsibilities when ending a tenancy. Any tenant wishing to end a tenancy should serve the landlord a Notice of Termination that has the details required by law and which gives the landlord the required period of notice. A tenant only has to give a reason to end a tenancy if the landlord has breached their responsibilities.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2021 (the “2021 Amendment Act”) introduced Tenancies of Unlimited Duration and can be downloaded below. While the 2021 Amendment Act was enacted on 11 December 2021, sections 5 and 6 which introduce Tenancies of Unlimited Duration came into operation on 11 June 2022.