Glossary
The words the Act, the RTB and the landlord use, each in a sentence or two of plain English, with the page to read next.
Checked 27 OCT 2026 · 46 terms, A to ZA
5 terms- Adjudication
- The RTB's second route after mediation: an adjudicator hears both sides and makes a binding decision. It costs €30. Since 14 September 2026 the hearing is public and the report names both parties. Which to choose →
- Advance rent
- Rent paid before it falls due. Since 9 August 2021 a landlord may ask for no more than one month's rent in advance, on top of a deposit of no more than one month. The one-month caps →
- Approved Housing Body (AHB)
- A not-for-profit housing association. Its tenancies are under the Residential Tenancies Act and the RTB, with some different rent rules. AHB tenants →
- Assignment
- Handing your whole tenancy to someone else. You need the landlord's consent; if a fixed-term landlord refuses, you may then end the lease on the normal notice. Subletting and assignment →
C
2 terms- Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- The CSO's measure of inflation. Since 1 March 2026 rent may rise by no more than 2% or the annual change in the CPI, whichever is lower. The cap →
- Cost rental
- Homes let by an AHB, the LDA or a council at a rent based on the cost of providing them, not the market. Under the RTB, with their own rent rules; the rent tax credit does not apply. Cost rental →
D
6 terms- Date of service
- The day you receive a notice. The notice period and the dispute window count from it. A posted notice is served when it is delivered, which is why the RTB recommends email or hand delivery. Service by email →
- Deposit
- Money you give the landlord at the start as security, capped at one month's rent. It must be returned promptly at the end, less rent arrears, bills you owe and damage beyond normal wear and tear. Getting it back →
- Deposit protection scheme
- A scheme in which a third party holds deposits. The 2015 Act provided for one run by the RTB, but it has never been commenced, so deposits are held by landlords. The 2015 scheme →
- Determination order
- The RTB's formal order after a dispute, binding on both sides. If a landlord ignores it, it can be enforced through the District Court, and the RTB can take the case for you. Enforcement →
- Digs
- A room in the owner's own home, usually with meals. A licence, not a tenancy: the Residential Tenancies Act does not apply. The rent tax credit can still be claimed. Digs →
- Dispute window
- The time you have to refer a notice of termination to the RTB: 90 days from receipt, or 28 days where the ground is a tenant breach. Since 1 March 2026; it was 28 days before. Your last day →
F
2 terms- Fixed payment notice
- An on-the-spot penalty the RTB can issue since 14 September 2026: €200 for a rent breach, €100 for registration and rent-information breaches, with higher amounts possible by order. Landlord obligations →
- Fixed-term lease
- A written agreement for a set period. It does not remove your Part 4 rights, but it can carry contractual penalties for leaving early. Fixed term or periodic →
H
2 terms- Hardship sale
- The only sale ground open to a smaller landlord during a six-year cycle for a tenancy from March 2026: the proceeds are needed for a principal residence, a debt of over 15% of the price due within nine months, or insolvency. The hardship ground →
- Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)
- The council pays the landlord most of the rent and you pay the council a differential rent, plus any top-up to the landlord. The limits date from 2017 with discretion of up to 35%. HAP →
I
1 term- Illegal eviction
- Being put out of your home without a valid notice and an RTB determination: locks changed, utilities cut, belongings removed. Improper conduct the RTB investigates; damages up to €20,000. Lock-outs and cut-offs →
L
2 terms- Larger landlord
- A landlord with four or more tenancies, or any company. For a tenancy from 1 March 2026 a larger landlord cannot end it to sell, to move family in, to refurbish or to change use. Why it matters →
- Licensee
- Someone with permission to live somewhere but no tenancy: a lodger in the owner's home, a person in digs or under rent-a-room. The Residential Tenancies Act gives a licensee almost no rights. Licensees and lodgers →
M
2 terms- Mediation
- The RTB's first route: a free, private, confidential process by telephone in which a mediator helps both sides reach an agreement. Outcomes are not published. Which to choose →
- Minimum standards
- The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019: structure, heating, hot and cold water, ventilation, fire safety, food preparation, laundry, pests, electricity and gas. Enforced by the local authority. The 2019 Regulations →
N
2 terms- Notice of termination
- The written notice a landlord or tenant gives to end a tenancy. To be valid it must be in writing, signed, dated, give the termination date and the reason, say you can refer a dispute to the RTB, and give the period the Act requires. What makes one valid →
- Notice period
- The time a notice must give. From a landlord: 90 days under six months, 152 to a year, 180 to seven years, 196 to eight, 224 after that; 28 days for a breach after a warning. From a tenant: 28 to 112 days. The periods →
O
1 term- Overholding
- Staying in the dwelling after the termination date on a valid notice. The landlord's only lawful route is an RTB determination and then the courts; the tenant can be ordered to pay damages. Overholding →
P
1 term- Part 4 tenancy
- The security of tenure you get after six continuous months without a valid notice, under Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act. What it gives depends on when the tenancy began. The six-month rule →
R
8 terms- Rent book
- A record of the rent paid and the terms of the tenancy, which the landlord must give you under the Housing (Rent Books) Regulations 1993, or an equivalent written record. Your rent book →
- Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ)
- An area where rent rises were capped. RPZs ended on 28 February 2026; the national 2% or CPI cap replaced them. The 24-month rule for a first review in a newly designated area is the one transitional rule left. What replaced them →
- Rent review
- A change in the rent during a tenancy. Allowed once in 12 months, on 90 days' notice in the prescribed form with the RTB calculator printout and three comparables, within the cap. The review notice →
- Rent Supplement
- A Department of Social Protection payment towards rent for people not on the housing list, usually a short-term support. Different from HAP. Rent Supplement →
- Rent tax credit
- A credit of 20% of rent paid, up to €1,000 for a single person or €2,000 jointly assessed for 2024 to 2026; €1,150 and €2,300 announced for 2027. The tenancy must be RTB-registered unless it is a licence. Work out your credit →
- Rent-a-room scheme
- A tax relief for a homeowner who lets a room in their own home, up to €14,000 a year (€16,000 announced from 2027). The lodger is a licensee, not a tenant. From the lodger's side →
- Rent-setting statement
- Since 1 March 2026, what a landlord must give a new tenant and the RTB at the start: the previous rent, when it was set and three comparable tenancies from the RTB Rent Register. The statement →
- Residential Tenancies Board (RTB)
- The State body that registers tenancies, resolves disputes between landlords and tenants, and enforces the Residential Tenancies Act. This site is independent of it. The RTB process →
S
4 terms- Smaller landlord
- An individual with three or fewer tenancies. For a tenancy from 1 March 2026 a smaller landlord has more grounds than a larger one: close family occupation or a hardship sale during the cycle, and four grounds at the end of it. Why it matters →
- Statutory declaration
- A sworn written statement a landlord must attach to a notice for a sale, family occupation, refurbishment or change of use. Since March 2026 a smaller landlord's declaration must say they are not a company and have no more than three tenancies. What a notice needs →
- Student-specific accommodation (SSA)
- Purpose-built student housing. Under the RTB, with a 41-week maximum, the deposit cap and the rent cap, and a reset allowed once every three years from 1 March 2029. Student accommodation →
- Subletting
- Letting part or all of your home to someone else while you keep the tenancy. You need the landlord's consent; without it, the landlord may serve a breach notice. Subletting →
T
6 terms- Tenancy of Minimum Duration (TMD)
- The security of tenure for a tenancy that began on or after 1 March 2026: after six months it runs in six-year cycles, and what the landlord can do depends on their size. The six-year cycle →
- Tenancy of unlimited duration
- The security of tenure for a tenancy that began between 11 June 2022 and 28 February 2026: after six months it has no end date and no cycle, and the rent can never be reset to market while it lasts. Older tenancies →
- Tenant in situ
- A scheme under which a local authority may buy the home you rent when you are served a notice because of a sale and your household qualifies for social housing support, within the year's national ceiling. The scheme in 2026 →
- Termination date
- The date on a notice by which the tenancy ends. You have the whole of that day. It must be on or after the earliest lawful date counted from the date of service. Check yours →
- Threshold
- The national housing charity for tenants. Its advisers are free, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, on 1800 454 454, and can help with an RTB application. Start here →
- Tribunal
- A three-person panel that hears an appeal from a mediation outcome (€30) or an adjudication (€85), within 10 working days. Its decision becomes a determination order. Appealing →
W
2 terms- Warning notice
- The notice a landlord must give before a 28-day termination notice for rent arrears or another breach. For arrears it gives 28 days to pay in full, and paying ends the matter. A copy goes to the RTB. The 28 days →
- Wear and tear
- The ordinary ageing of a home and its contents through normal use: worn carpet, faded paint, small marks. A landlord may not deduct it from a deposit; damage beyond it, a landlord may. What may be deducted →
A term missing? Email hello@tenantwise.ie. For what the words mean in your own case, ring Threshold or ask a solicitor; this page is information, not advice.