Private residential tenancies

Information about private residential tenancies.

A private residential tenancy is an agreement or lease between a landlord and a tenant. The landlord is the person entitled to receive the rent for the property under the tenancy agreement. The tenant is the person entitled to live in the property under the tenancy agreement in return for paying rent to the landlord.

A private landlord can be an individual, a company or a trustee of a trust.

This page has information on tenancies leased by private landlords. We also have pages on tenancies where the landlord is:

Tenancy agreement or lease

A written tenancy agreement is called a lease. The agreement explains the terms and conditions of a tenancy. We encourage landlords and tenants to put all agreements in writing so that both sides are clear on the detail and what is expected from each other. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has created a Residential Tenancy Agreement template.

Landlords and tenants can use it to agree on the terms of their relationship. A contract cannot overrule the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act.

Types of private tenancy agreements

Tenancies of unlimited duration

On 11 June 2022, tenancies of unlimited duration were introduced into law. This means that if a tenancy began on or after 11 June 2022, once a tenant has lived in the property continuously for 6 months and has not been served with a valid Notice of Termination within that period, they can stay indefinitely. A private landlord can only end a tenancy of unlimited duration on limited grounds.

Part 4 tenancies

Before 11 June 2022, tenancies of unlimited duration did not exist. Instead, a Part 4 tenancy began after the tenant had lived in the property continuously for 6 months unless a valid notice of termination was served within that period. A Part 4 tenancy allowed the tenant to stay for a set period. Different time limits applied based on the date a tenancy started.

If the tenancy began The Part 4 period extended for
On or after 24 December 2016 A further 5 ½ years (after the initial 6 months)
Before 24 December 2016 A further 3 ½ years (after the initial 6 months)

Further Part 4 tenancies

Before tenancies of unlimited duration came into effect on 11 June 2022, a further Part 4 tenancy began when the previous Part 4 tenancy ended (unless the landlord or tenant validly terminated the tenancy).

It allowed the tenant to stay for another:

  • 4 years (if the further Part 4 tenancy commenced before 24 December 2016)
  • 6 years (if the further Part 4 tenancy commenced after 24 December 2016)

There are still some further Part 4 tenancies that began just before tenancies of unlimited duration were created on 11 June 2022. At the end of their 6-year cycle, these tenancies will become tenancies of unlimited duration.

By 11 June 2028, all tenancies will have become tenancies of unlimited duration. This is because all existing 6-year cycle tenancies will have ended by then.

Fixed term tenancy

A fixed term tenancy is agreed for a specific period (for example one year). A tenancy of unlimited duration runs alongside a fixed term tenancy.

This means that no matter what duration the fixed term lease is, once the tenant has lived in the property continuously for 6 months and no valid notice of termination has been served, they can stay in the property indefinitely.

The landlord can only end the tenancy on limited grounds. Find out how a landlord and how a tenant can end a fixed term tenancy.

Other types of tenancies

Find information about other types of tenancies:

Subletting and assignment

Subletting and assignment can only occur with the landlord’s permission. Find out about subletting and assignment rules.

If you have problems with your tenancy

The simplest way to resolve a tenancy dispute is to talk to the other party to fix the issues. If you cannot resolve the issue, the RTB provides a dispute resolution service for registered landlords and tenants.