Chapter 6 of 10 · Ending it yourself · 1 of 6
Breaking a fixed-term lease in Ireland
The break clause, the assignment request that lets you leave if refused, the penalties a landlord can and cannot claim.
Checked 27 OCT 2026 · 3 sourcesWritten in plain English for the person paying the rent. This guide covers the Republic of Ireland only.
A fixed-term lease is a contract to rent the home for a set period, usually six or twelve months. You cannot simply serve the ordinary notice and go: the rent for the rest of the term is a debt under the contract unless you leave by a route the lease or the Act allows. There are four such routes, and one of them, the assignment request in section 186, is open to every tenant on a fixed term.
Leaving early by any other means is a breach of the lease. The landlord may then claim what they have actually lost, which is usually the rent until the home is re-let, and no more than that. The giving-notice tool works out the ordinary period for your tenancy length and what a fixed term changes.
This guide covers the Republic of Ireland. A licence in the owner's own home is a different arrangement with its own notice rules, covered in licensees and lodgers.
What a fixed term is, and what it is not
A fixed-term lease sets a start date, an end date and a rent, and binds both sides for that period. It does not take away the rights the Act gives you. After six months you have Part 4 rights whatever the lease says, and the landlord can end the tenancy only on the grounds and with the notice the Act allows. Fixed-term versus periodic tenancies sets out the difference.
What the lease adds is a promise to pay rent to the end date. A tenant who moves out in month four of a twelve-month term still owes the rent for month five, until the landlord re-lets the home. That is the whole of the problem, and each route below solves it in a different way.
Route one: the break clause
Read the lease for a break clause. It will say something like "either party may end this agreement after six months by giving two months' notice in writing". If the clause is there, follow it exactly: the earliest date it allows, the length of notice it names, and the way it says the notice must be given.
A break clause cannot give you less than the Act's tenant periods, 28 to 112 days by tenancy length, so use the longer of the two. The tool compares them. A clause that lets only the landlord break the lease is common; it does not help you, but it does not stop you using the routes below.
Route two: an agreement in writing
The simplest way out is the landlord agreeing to it. Section 69 allows a landlord and tenant to agree a shorter notice period, or none, once the decision to leave has arisen. Many landlords will agree if you offer to find a replacement tenant, allow viewings by arrangement, and leave the home clean.
Get the agreement in writing before you rely on it: the leaving date, the rent you will pay to that date, and confirmation that nothing further is claimed. An email from the landlord saying "that is fine" is enough. A conversation is not.
Route three: the landlord is in breach
Section 68 applies where the landlord has failed in an obligation, such as a repair, your peaceful occupation, or registration. If they have been warned in writing and have not put it right, you may serve 28 days' notice. The fixed term does not stop this; the landlord's breach comes first. Keep the warning and the reply.
This route needs a real breach, not an inconvenience. If the landlord disputes it, the RTB decides, so the written warning and the evidence of what was wrong matter. Giving notice to your landlord covers the 28-day notice and how to serve it.
Route four: the assignment request, and the refusal that frees you
Section 186 is the route most tenants do not know about. Write to the landlord asking for consent to assign the tenancy to another person, or to sublet it. If the landlord refuses, you may then serve a notice of termination on the ordinary tenant period for your tenancy length, and the fixed term no longer binds you.
Assignment means a new tenant takes over your tenancy, your rent and your lease, and you drop out. If the landlord consents, you find the person, the landlord checks them as they would any applicant, and the paperwork changes hands; subletting, assignment and changing the names covers that. If the landlord refuses, keep the refusal. Your notice then runs 28 to 112 days, by the table, from the day it is served.
Make the request in writing, dated, and keep a copy. Give the landlord a reasonable time to answer; a fortnight is a fair planning figure, though the Act does not fix one. A landlord who ignores the request has not consented, but a refusal in writing is the clearest footing. Put a date in the letter by which you ask for an answer, chase for a reply, and keep the proof that the request arrived.
What a landlord may claim if you leave with no route
Where you leave by none of the four routes, the lease has been broken and the landlord may claim their loss. What the law allows is narrower than many leases suggest.
| The landlord may claim | The landlord may not claim |
|---|---|
| Rent for the days the home stands empty, until it is re-let or the term ends | Rent for any period after a new tenant has moved in |
| Reasonable costs of re-letting where the lease says so, such as advertising | A fixed "penalty" or "early termination fee" larger than the real loss |
| Rent arrears and unpaid bills you owed under the agreement | Normal wear and tear, or cleaning to a higher standard than you found |
| Damage beyond wear and tear, itemised in writing | The whole deposit as an automatic forfeit for leaving |
The landlord must try to re-let the home, and the loss stops when they do. If you leave on 1 March and a new tenant moves in on 15 March, the loss is a fortnight's rent, however many months were left on the term. If the landlord makes no effort to re-let, the RTB can reduce the claim.
Any deduction from the deposit must be set out in writing with the figures. What a landlord may deduct covers each heading, and the deposit tool works through a landlord's list line by line. A claim for more than the deposit has to be made to the RTB; the landlord cannot simply send a bill.
Leaving at the end of the term
A lease that reaches its end date does not end the tenancy by itself. If you stay on, the tenancy continues as a Part 4 tenancy on the same terms, and either side needs a notice of termination to end it. If you want to leave on the end date, serve the ordinary tenant notice so that the termination date falls on or after it.
Where the lease has run for more than six months, the Act also asks you to tell the landlord, between three months and one month before the end, if you intend to stay. A tenant who gives no word and then leaves at the end may face a claim for the landlord's loss, so one short email answers it either way.
What to do first
Read the lease twice: the break clause, the notice wording, and any "early termination" clause. Then write the assignment request if there is no break clause and the landlord has not agreed. Keep paying rent while you wait; falling behind hands the landlord a ground and a deduction.
Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, with the lease in front of you. The advisers can tell you which route fits and what the landlord's claim could be worth. If the landlord later claims more than you think is owed, refer it to the RTB: mediation is free and adjudication costs €30. The deposit journey takes those steps in order.
Where this leaves you
A fixed term binds you to the rent until its end date, but four routes release you. They are a break clause, an agreement in writing, the landlord's own breach after a warning, and the assignment request the landlord refuses. The last of those is open to everyone with a fixed term, and it leads to the ordinary 28-to-112-day notice. If you leave with no route, the landlord may claim the rent until the home is re-let and not a fixed penalty. Read the lease, send the request in writing, keep paying rent to the day you go, and ring Threshold before you agree to any figure.
Questions people ask
Can you break a lease in Ireland?
Yes, by one of four routes. A break clause in the lease, if it has one. An agreement with the landlord in writing. A 28-day notice where the landlord is in breach after a written warning. Or a written request to assign the tenancy to someone else, which, if the landlord refuses, lets you end the lease on the ordinary tenant notice period. Leaving by none of these is a breach of the lease, and the landlord may claim the rent they lose.
What happens if I break my lease early?
The landlord may claim the rent for the time the home stands empty until it is re-let or the term ends, whichever comes first, and any costs the lease properly allows. They must try to re-let it. They may not claim rent for a period after a new tenant is in, a penalty bigger than their real loss, or wear and tear. Any deduction from the deposit must be itemised in writing, and the RTB decides a dispute about the amount.
Can my landlord keep the whole deposit if I leave early?
Not automatically. The deposit is security for what you actually owe, and the lease cannot turn it into a fixed forfeit. If the landlord re-lets the home within a fortnight, the loss is about a fortnight's rent, and the rest of the deposit should come back. Ask for the figures in writing and refer the deduction to the RTB if they do not add up.
Does a fixed-term lease take away my Part 4 rights?
No. After six months in the tenancy you have Part 4 rights whatever the lease says, and the landlord can only end the tenancy on the grounds the Act allows. A fixed term adds a contract on top of the Act; it does not replace it.
What is the notice period to end a fixed-term lease at its end date?
The ordinary tenant period for your tenancy length, 28 to 112 days, counted so that the termination date falls on or after the end of the term. A lease that has been in place for more than six months also asks you to tell the landlord, between three months and one month before it ends, if you intend to stay. Check the lease for its own wording.