Irish landlord and tenant laws are judged by the Global Property Guide to be Pro-Tenant between landlord and tenant. While Irish law provides significant protection for tenants, especially in areas with high housing demand, it also respects landlords' rights to manage their properties effectively and ensures they are compensated for their property.

Rents: Can landlord and tenant freely agree rents in Ireland?

The parties to the contract are free to agree rents, however rents may not be charged above the market rent. Landlords are tightly restricted in terms of how frequently and by how much they can increase rents. Rent increases are capped in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs), which include areas with high demand for housing. Rent increases are limited to a percentage tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This ensures that tenants in these areas are protected from excessive rent hikes.

Security of tenure refers to a tenant’s right to remain in their rented accommodation for a specified period, provided certain conditions are met. In Ireland, security of tenure generally kicks in after six months of continuous rental, as long as the tenant has not received a valid notice of termination from the landlord during that time. Once a tenant has security of tenure, the landlord can only end the tenancy for a limited set of reasons, such as personal use of the property or the sale of the property.

The length of time you are entitled to stay in rented accommodation after the first six months depends on when your tenancy began.

• For tenancies starting after June 10, 2022: You have an unlimited duration tenancy, meaning once you've rented the property for six months, you can stay indefinitely unless the landlord decides to end the tenancy for one of the allowed reasons.

• For tenancies starting before June 10, 2022: You have the right to stay in the rented accommodation for up to six years after renting for six months. At the end of these six years, the landlord can terminate the tenancy without providing a reason, as per the previous rules. However, if the landlord does not end the tenancy after this period, it automatically converts into an unlimited duration tenancy with no set end date.

Deposits

When you rent a property, you will likely be required to pay a security deposit, which the landlord holds to cover any potential rent arrears, unpaid bills, or damages beyond normal wear and tear at the end of the tenancy.

Under Irish law, you cannot be asked to pay more than two months' rent upfront. This includes both the security deposit (typically one month's rent) and one month's rent in advance. This limit applies to all leases signed after August 9, 2021, as outlined in the Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021.

What rights do landlords and tenants have in Ireland, especially as to duration of contract, and eviction?

Security of tenure refers to a tenant’s right to remain in their rented accommodation for a specified period, provided certain conditions are met. In Ireland, security of tenure generally kicks in after six months of continuous rental, as long as the tenant has not received a valid notice of termination from the landlord during that time. Once a tenant has security of tenure, the landlord can only end the tenancy for a limited set of reasons, such as personal use of the property or the sale of the property.

The length of time you are entitled to stay in rented accommodation after the first six months depends on when your tenancy began.

• For tenancies starting after June 10, 2022: You have an unlimited duration tenancy, meaning once you've rented the property for six months, you can stay indefinitely unless the landlord decides to end the tenancy for one of the allowed reasons.

• For tenancies starting before June 10, 2022: You have the right to stay in the rented accommodation for up to six years after renting for six months. At the end of these six years, the landlord can terminate the tenancy without providing a reason, as per the previous rules. However, if the landlord does not end the tenancy after this period, it automatically converts into an unlimited duration tenancy with no set end date.

The Act allows leases to provide greater security of tenure for tenants, and allows leases to specify longer notice periods.

Landlords have to register details of their tenancies within a month with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).

Despite anything to the contrary in a lease or tenancy, where a landlord withholds consent to assignment or sub-letting, the tenant may terminate the tenancy. 

How effective is the Irish legal system?

It is generally accepted that landlord and tenant law is one of the most complex and involved fields of Irish law.

Disputes are resolved in the Residential Tenancies Board. It is a government body established to regulate the private rental sector in Ireland and to ensure that both tenants and landlords understand and uphold their rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and subsequent legislation. Here's an overview of the key functions and responsibilities of the RTB:The RTB hearings attempt to resolve this. The fees are not expensive. Legal representation should not be necessary. Costs will not be awarded except in exceptional circumstances. The dispute resolution process operates informally. But enforcement of the orders of Board not complied with, will be through the Court.

Legislation:

Recent changes in Irish landlord and tenant law Irish landlord and tenant law comprises a mix of the common law (judge-made law), and statute law, including (distantly) the Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act, Ireland, 1960; the Conveyancing Act, 1882; and more recently, the Rent Restrictions Act, 1960 and 1967; the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Acts 1982-1983; and the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992. But undoubtedly the most important legislation is The Private Residential Tenancies Act, 2004. Since then, the Act has been modified until 2025.

Brief history

During World War 1, the British Parliament passed measures of rent control and security of tenure. These persisted into the post war period, and eventually became the Rent Restrictions Act 1960, an extremely complex set of restrictions.

The restrictions survived until the early 1980s, when they were the subject of a constitutional challenge. In Blake v Attorney General (1981) the Supreme Court ruled that Parts 11 and Parts 1V of the Rent restrictions Act 1960-1967 were unconstitutional in that they amounted to an ?unjust attack? on landlords? property rights. The legislation, the Supreme Court complained, provided no compensation for landlords subject to rent control, and almost permanently alienated the property from the landlord. Following Blake, more moderate legislation was passed, designed to phase out the formerly rent-controlled sector by 2002 (the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Acts of 1982-1983). The net result was that tenants became largely unprotected from eviction, and the rent market was free.

This brought a reaction. Following campaigns by Threshold, a housing NGO, the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 was passed which provided new rights: more notice-to-quit, minimum standards of accommodation, and the right to a rent book, plus a system of registration. It also abolished the old common law right of the landlord to seize his tenants? property in lieu of rent (distress). However the Act did not address security of tenure, and there was another Threshold campaign, which resulted in the present, more anti-landlord Act.