Residential Tenancies Board

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) regulates tenancies in:

• The private rented sector
• Approved housing bodies
• Student-specific accommodation

The RTB:

• Maintains a register of private residential tenancies, tenancies of approved housing bodies and student-specific accommodation tenancies
• Provides a dispute resolution service for tenants and landlords
• Investigates and sanctions landlords who have broken residential tenancies legislation
• Does research into the private rented sector
• Provides policy advice to the Government on the private rented sector

The RTB was set up with the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. It was initially called the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). But its name changed to the Residential Tenancies Board in 2015, when approved housing bodies (AHBs) were added to the RTB’s work.

Since 2019, the RTB also covers student-specific accommodation. This means tenants in student-specific accommodation have most of the same rights as private tenants.

The Residential Tenancies Acts deal with the regulation of the:

• Mainstream private rented housing sector
• Approved housing body sector
• Student-specific accommodation

The Acts set out the rights and obligations of these landlords and tenants. They do not apply to certain types of rented property.

Types of rented property that are exempt from residential tenancies legislation

The Residential Tenancies Acts do not apply to the following types of rented property:

• Business lettings
• Holiday lettings
• Formerly rent-controlled properties or long occupation lease tenancies (separate legislation applies to them)
• A room that you rent in your landlord's home
• A property where the landlord's spouse, parent or child lives. This applies to informal family arrangements where there is no tenancy agreement in writing. However, the Act does cover formal agreements between family members, for example, where a lease has been signed.
• Local authority housing

Security of tenure rules in residential tenancies legislation do not apply to:

• Employment-related lettings – these are sometimes called 'tied' houses because they are tied to the job, and you must leave the property when the job ends, and
• Student-specific accommodation
• Transitional properties let by approved housing bodies

Also, if you are renting a flat or apartment that was originally part of the landlord's main house, your landlord can choose to opt out of provisions on security of tenure. Read more in our page on Sharing accommodation with your landlord.

Registers tenancies

The RTB maintains a national register of tenancies. All private residential tenancies, approved housing body tenancies and student-specific accommodation tenancies must be registered with the RTB.

Landlords must register their tenancies every year, within a month of the date of when the tenancy began.

Landlords who do not register their tenancies can be fined up to €4,000 and may be imprisoned if convicted.

Read more in our page on registering a tenancy and on the RTB’s website.

The RTB can share information with:

• Local authorities, who enforce the regulations about minimum standards and rent books
• The Department of Social Protection
• The Revenue Commissioners

Resolves disputes

The RTB provides a confidential dispute resolution service.

You can start the dispute resolution process if you are:

• A tenant
• A landlord
• Directly affected by a problem, for example, if you are a neighbour

A landlord who has not registered a tenancy with the RTB cannot use the dispute resolution service, but their tenant can.

Read more in our page on resolving disputes and on the RTB’s website.

Investigates and sanctions landlords

The RTB has an investigations and sanctions unit, which has the power to:

• Investigate landlords who have broken residential tenancies legislation. For example, if a landlord does not register their tenancies or does not comply with Rent Pressure Zone rules.
• Caution or sanction landlords with a fine of up to €15,000, if they do not meet their obligations as a landlord

The RTB uses these powers to monitor and enforce the legislation, particularly about Rent Pressure Zones and the termination of tenancy notices.

Researches the rental sector and provides information on it

The RTB publishes:

• Research reports on issues in the private rented sector
• A quarterly Rent Index

It also provides a wide range of information for tenants, landlords and agents, along with sample forms.

Registration fees

The fee for registering a tenancy with the RTB is different depending on the type of tenancy.

The basic fee is:

• €40 a year for a private rented, student-specific or cost rental tenancy
• €20 a year for an AHB tenancy

These rates only apply if the RTB receives the completed application within a month of the start of the tenancy.

Late fees apply if an application is received more than a month late.

There are exemptions from annual registration fees for certain tenancies. Find more information in our page on registering a tenancy.

Dispute resolution fees

The RTB deals with disputes between landlords and tenants.

There are 2 stages to the RTB’s dispute resolution process:

• Stage 1 is confidential mediation or adjudication. Mediation means that an impartial mediator helps you come to an agreement together. Adjudication is when an adjudicator makes a decision on your case.
• Stage 2 is an appeal of the mediator’s or adjudicator’s decision, which is a public hearing by a 3-person Tenancy Tribunal.

Fees for submitting an application to the RTB for dispute resolution are:

How to register a tenancy with the RTB

You can register a tenancy:

• Online using the RTB’s online system
• By post or email by completing the Tenancy Registration Application Form (pdf) and sending it back to the RTB

How to submit a dispute to the RTB

You can apply for dispute resolution:

• Online using the RTB's Dispute Resolution Centre. You will need to create an RTB account to use the online service, if you do not already have one.
• By post or email by completing the application form and sending it to the RTB at disputes@rtb.ie or RTB, PO Box 47, Clonakilty, Cork

If you are unhappy with the service provided by the RTB, you can contact them to make a formal complaint. You should:

• Make the complaint as soon as possible after the issue has happened
• Provide as much information as possible

Your complaint will be reviewed by someone in the RTB who was not involved in the original issue.

The RTB aims to deal with complaints within 14 days. If this is not possible, they will contact you to let you know it will take longer.

The RTB’s complaints procedure does not cover all types of complaints about the RTB. For example, there is a different process for complaints or appeals about RTB Adjudication or Tribunal Determinations.

The RTB’s Customer Charter has more information about the complaints procedure.