Know Your Rights: Renting

The rental scene in Ireland reached a crisis-level due to chronic housing shortage. The cost of rent has increased by over 12.6% compared to last year. Years of housing undersupply, coupled with an exodus of small landlords from the market, has led to a dire situation for renters. This piece aims to clarify legal entitlements for students who are a particularly vulnerable cohort of renters.

General Overview

Your main rights and responsibilities as a tenant come from The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and the lease or tenancy agreement you have with your landlord.

Leases or other tenancy agreements cannot take away from your rights under the legislation. However, you and your landlord can agree on matters not covered by legislation in a lease or tenancy agreement; for example, who pays for the utility bills.

If you are renting a room in your landlord’s home you are not covered by landlord and tenant legislation, although you are covered if you rent a self-contained flat in your landlord’s home.

An eviction ban is in place from 30 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. This means that if you are renting private rented accommodation, you cannot be evicted during these months, even if you have been issued with a valid notice of termination. However, the eviction ban does not apply if you do not keep your tenant obligations.