RIGHTS AS A TENANT

Rights as a tenant

• You are entitled to quiet and exclusive enjoyment of your home. If noise from other tenants or neighbours is disturbing you, ask them to stop and also inform your landlord. If this does not work, you can make a formal complaint.
• You are entitled to certain minimum standards of acommodation.
• You are entitled to a rent book.
• You have the right to contact the landlord or their agent at any reasonable times. You are also entitled to have appropriate contact information (telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, etc.)
• Your landlord is only allowed to enter your home with your permission. If the landlord needs to carry out repairs or inspect the premises, it should be by prior arrangement, except in an emergency
• You are entitled to reimbursement for any repairs that you carry out that are the landlord's responsibility
• You are entitled to have visitors to stay overnight or for short periods, unless specifically forbidden in your tenancy agreement. You must tell your landlord if you have an extra person moving in
• You are entitled to a certain amount of notice of thetermination of your tenancy.
• You are entitled to refer any disputes to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) without being penalised for doing so
• You have the right to a copy of any register entry held by RTB dealing with your tenancy
• All homes for rent must have a Building Entry test. stating how energy-efficient the home is. This will help you to make an informed choice when comparing properties to rent.

Tenants of housing associations

If you are renting from a housing association, a co-operative or similar voluntary organisation (known as approved housing bodies or AHBs) your tenancy now comes under the residential tenancies legislation and you have most of the same rights that private tenants have. However, there are some differences:

• You may not assign or sublet the tenancy
• Rent reviews will be carried out in accordance with the tenancy agreement (if there is one) or else no more than once a year
• While most tenants of AHBs will get security of tenure – known as Part 4 rights – after 6 months or more into the tenancy, this does not apply if you are living in transitional accommodation and the tenancy is for 18 months or less
• The landlord’s right to terminate a Part 4 tenancy for the reason that they require the dwelling for their own or family member occupation does not apply to AHB tenancies
• The minimum standards for food preparation, storage and laundry purposes do not apply to AHBs, so they do not have to provide their tenants with white goods, such as washing machines

Security of tenure

In general, you may have security of tenure for 4 years, though your landlord may end the tenancy during the first 6 months without giving any reason. After 6 months, you have the right to stay for a further 3 years and 6 months, provided you keep the terms of the contract. These provisions are in Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, so a tenancy that is in existence for more than 6 months is known as a Part 4 tenancy. All tenancies are deemed to end after 4 years.

If you continue to be the tenant at the end of the 4 years, you have a Further Part 4 tenancy. You may stay in the property but you are considered to have a new tenancy. You can read more about the different types of tenancy here.

If you intend to stay in the property, you should inform your landlord in writing between 3 months and 1 month before the expiry of your fixed-term tenancy or lease agreement.

This right to remain is subject to certain rights that the landlord continues to have. The landlord may reclaim the property for a number of reasons – read more in our document, If your landlord wants you to leave.

Paying and reclaiming your deposit

You will probably have to pay a security deposit when you agree to rent the property. The landlord holds this deposit as security to cover any rent arrears, bills owing or damage beyond normal wear and tear at the end of the tenancy. There are no rules about the amount of the deposit, but it is usually equal to one month’s rent.

Threshold provides useful tips on what to bear in mind before you pay a deposit, including a guide to avoiding scams (pdf). Your landlord must provide you with an inventory of the contents of the property. It is advisable to record the condition of everything that is listed, taking photos if possible, and agree this in writing with your landlord.

In general, when you leave a property at the end of the agreed rental period or after giving the agreed notice, the landlord must return your security deposit, promptly and in full. Read Threshold’s advice on getting your deposit back.

However, if you leave before the end of the agreed period, the landlord may keep your deposit, even if you have given notice. (You may also be liable for the amount of rent due until the end of the lease, depending on what is stated in the lease agreement.)

The landlord may keep part or all of the deposit in the following situations:

• Rent arrears
• Unpaid bills
• Damage above normal wear and tear
• If you have not given adequate notice

The landlord may not hold your possessions against money that you owe, but he can apply to the RTB if he feels that your deposit does not cover rent arrears or the cost of damage to the property.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 provides for a new tenancy deposit protection scheme. These provisions are not yet in effect.

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