Notice of Termination guide (from 1 March 2026)

If you want to end a tenancy that has lasted 6 months or more, you must share a document called a Notice of Termination with your tenant. The Notice of Termination states the reason for ending the tenancy.

Follow the steps below to serve a Notice of Termination correctly.

Step 1: Check if ending the tenancy is allowed

Before you begin, you must confirm that your reason for ending the tenancy is legally valid. In some cases, you must also take extra steps before you serve the notice.

• For rent arrears:
  • Serve a rent arrears warning notice to your tenant and the RTB on the same day.
  • You must give at least 28 days to pay the unpaid rent. The notice period starts when both the RTB and the tenant receive it. To submit the notice to the RTB, you should email it to warningnotice@rtb.ie.
    .
• For other tenant breaches:
  • Serve a warning notice to your tenant with details of the breach and give a reasonable time to fix it. You do not need to send it to the RTB.

Use the table below to check if your reason for ending the tenancy is legally valid. You can also read more about how a landlord can end a tenancy.

Shorter notice periods

There are some cases where notice periods can be shorter:

• Rent arrears: Landlords can give a tenant 28 days’ notice to end a tenancy in cases of rent arrears. You must have served a warning notice to your tenant and the RTB correctly first.
• Other breach of tenant obligations: Landlords can give a tenant 28 days’ notice to end a tenancy where a tenant has breached their obligations. You must have served a warning notice to your tenant correctly first.
• Serious anti-social behaviour: Landlords can give a tenant 7-days’ notice to end a tenancy in cases of serious anti-social behaviour or behaviour that threatens the structure of the property. For example, criminal behaviour or threats to safety. You do not need to serve a warning notice first. High standards of proof apply for disputes.

If you live in Ireland, you must sign a statutory declaration in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths, a practicing solicitor, a notary public, or a peace commissioner. If you live outside of Ireland, you can make a statutory declaration but you will need to take some extra steps to prove your document has been signed and witnessed correctly.

Find out more about making a statutory declaration outside of Ireland

Ensure your notice is valid

To be valid, a Notice of Termination must:

• Be signed by the landlord or their authorised agent.
• Include the date the notice is sent. This is the date the notice is posted, hand delivered or emailed.
• Give the date the tenancy will end (the tenant has the full 24 hours on that day to leave the property).
• Give the reason you are ending the tenancy.
• Tell the tenant they have 90 days from the date they receive the notice to bring a dispute case to the RTB if they believe the notice is not valid. Where  here has been a breach of obligation by the tenant, it should tell the tenant they have just 28 days to bring a dispute case to the RTB.
• Be sent to the RTB on the same day it is sent to the tenant. Failure to do so makes the notice invalid.

Step 4: Send to your tenant and the RTB

• You must send the notice to your tenant and the RTB at the same time. If you don’t, it’s invalid.
• You can send the notice to your tenant by post or email. If you send it by post, keep a record of postage.
• Submit your notice to the RTB through the online RTB Service Centre.
• If you cannot submit the notice online, you can post it to: Residential Tenancies Board, PO Box 13841, Freepost FKY7736, Killorglin, Co Kerry. You should keep a record of postage.

Lawful termination or illegal eviction

Ending a tenancy is a normal process, but it must be done legally.

• Lawful termination: You must serve a valid Notice of Termination and follow the  steps to legally end a tenancy
  
• Illegal eviction: It is illegal to force a tenant out by using threats, cutting off utilities, or changing locks. We take such cases seriously, as they can lead to homelessness.

If a tenant believes they have been illegally evicted, they can bring a dispute case to the RTB. If the RTB finds you have evicted your tenant illegally, we can direct you to allow the tenant to return to the property or pay damages of up to €20,000 (or both).

Overholding

Overholding is when a tenant stays beyond the notice period. If a tenant stays beyond the notice period, they must continue paying rent.

Accepting rent does not mean you agree to continue the tenancy. The RTB can only order a tenant to leave after a valid Notice of Termination has expired.

Fixing errors in a Notice of Termination

If a Notice of Termination contains an error or defect, an adjudicator or Tribunal may allow the error to be corrected, either by:

• Using the slip rule: which allows minor mistakes that don’t affect the notice in a significant way to be overlooked.
• Allowing a remedial notice of termination to be served: which is a corrected version of the original notice.

These options are only allowed if the mistake:

• Does not significantly affect the validity of the original notice, and
• The rest of the notice complies with the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended).

Rules for serving a remedial notice

If the adjudicator or tribunal allows a remedial notice to be served, the following rules apply:

• The remedial notice must be served within 28 days of the RTB issuing the Determination Order.
• The notice period in the remedial notice depends on how much time was left in the original notice.
• If the original notice period has already expired:  The landlord (or tenant) must give at least 28 days’ notice in the remedial notice.
• If the original notice period hasn’t yet expired: The landlord (or tenant) must give 28 days’ notice plus any remaining time left on the original notice.

Example: Slip Rule

• A landlord gives notice to two tenants but makes a small typo in one tenant’s first name. The tenants challenge the notice.
• The RTB adjudicator decides the error is minor and doesn’t affect the notice in a meaningful way.
• The adjudicator applies the slip rule and confirms the notice is still valid. The tenant must vacate.

Example: Remedial Notice

• A landlord serves a notice with 180 days’ notice on 1 December 2024.
• The notice period starts the next day, 2 December 2024, so the correct termination date is 31 May 2025.
• However, the landlord mistakenly writes 30 May 2025 as the termination date in the notice.
• The tenant challenges the notice with the RTB.
• The case is heard on 3 May 2025.
• The adjudicator rules that the notice is invalid because of the incorrect termination date but allows a remedial notice to be served.
• The RTB issues the Determination Order on 7 May 2025.
• The landlord serves the remedial notice on 10 May 2025.
• Since the original termination date was supposed to be 31 May 2025, there are 22 days left in the original notice period on the day the remedial notice is served.
• Therefore, the landlord must give a total of 50 days’ notice (28 days + 22 days).
• The new termination date is 30 June 2025.

Sample Notice of Termination templates

For sample Notice of Termination templates, see the downloads section below.

Disputing a Notice of Termination

Tenants have 90 days to dispute a Notice of Termination, except in cases of rent arrears or breaches of tenant obligations. Tenants have just 28 days to dispute a Notice of Termination for rent arrears or breach of tenant obligations.

Downloads