Overholding: what it is and what happens

Overholding means staying in the home after a valid notice of termination has run out. The tenancy has ended under the Act, the termination date has passed, and the tenant is still there. It is not a crime, and the landlord may not take the home back by force. The landlord's only lawful route is a dispute at the RTB for a determination order, and if that order is not obeyed, the District Court.

This guide does not advise you to overhold. It sets out what overholding is, what the landlord can and cannot do about it, and what it can cost the tenant. That way you can weigh both choices with the facts in front of you. The first question, before any of that, is whether the notice was valid at all. The notice checker tests it against section 62.

Threshold on 1800 454 454, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, will talk through your position for free. Ring before the termination date if you can.

Valid notice, or no notice at all

Overholding only arises where the notice was valid. A notice that misses a requirement of section 62, that gives too short a period, or whose copy never reached the RTB within 7 days, may be invalid. An invalid notice does not end the tenancy, and a tenant who stays after an invalid notice is not overholding; they are a tenant.

That is why the dispute window matters so much. You have 90 days from service to refer most notices to the RTB, and 28 days for a notice citing a breach of your obligations. Referring the notice inside that window is the route the Act provides. Whether the tenancy has ended is then the question before the RTB, and nobody should act as though the answer is already known. Keep paying rent while it runs.

If the window has closed and the notice was not referred, the position is harder. The RTB can accept a late referral in some circumstances, but that is not something to rely on. Notice of termination: what a valid notice must contain goes through each requirement, and RTB fees and time limits covers the windows.

The landlord's lawful route

A termination date passing does not give the landlord possession. It gives the landlord a ground to apply to the RTB. The landlord refers a dispute for overholding and the RTB hears it. If the notice is upheld, the RTB makes a determination order directing the tenant to leave by a date and, usually, to pay damages. Adjudication costs the landlord €30 and, since 14 September 2026, the hearing is public and the report names both parties and the address.

If the tenant does not leave by the date in the order, the landlord applies to the District Court to enforce it. The RTB can bring that application itself. The court's order can then be executed, and only at that point does a sheriff or county registrar come into it. There is no step in the process at which the landlord, an agent or a friend of the landlord may remove the tenant.

That process takes time. The RTB's Annual Report 2024 gives an average of about 17 weeks for an adjudication and about 15 for a tribunal, with the court enforcement after that. Determination orders and enforcement explains the enforcement stage.

What the landlord may not do

The landlord may not change the locks or cut off the electricity, gas, water or heating. The landlord may not remove the tenant's belongings or the doors, move another person in, or use threats or pressure to make the tenant leave. None of those is made lawful by the fact that the tenant is overholding.

Each is improper conduct that the RTB investigates on its own account and can prosecute. Each is also a breach of the tenant's right to peaceful occupation, for which the RTB can award damages of up to €20,000. A tenant who is overholding and is locked out can still bring that claim. Illegal eviction, lock-outs and cut-offs sets out what to do on the day.

The Act is deliberate about this. It gives the landlord a route and gives the tenant protection on the way, and it expects both to use the RTB rather than the front door.

The risks for the tenant

Overholding has real costs, and a tenant weighing it should know them.

Damages. The RTB can award the landlord damages for the period of overholding and for loss it caused. Where a sale fell through, or the landlord's family member had to rent elsewhere, that loss can be substantial. Rent remains payable for every day of occupation, and unpaid rent is added to the award.

Costs. If the matter reaches the District Court, the court can order the tenant to pay the landlord's costs of the enforcement.

A public record. Since 14 September 2026 RTB adjudication hearings are public, and the published report names both parties and the address. Tribunal reports have always been published. A future landlord or agent who searches your name may find it. RTB hearings are public since 14 September 2026 explains what is published.

A reference. A landlord who had to go to the RTB for possession is unlikely to give a good reference, and the next tenancy may depend on one.

The order. A determination order against you is enforceable, and failing to obey a court order is a serious matter in its own right.

None of this is a prediction of what the RTB would do in your case. It is what the Act allows the RTB and the court to order.

Why neither side may take the law into its own hands

The Act forbids self-help because a dispute about whether a tenancy has ended is a legal question. The person who thinks they are right is not the person who gets to decide. A landlord who is sure the notice was valid may be wrong about the RTB copy or the period. A tenant who is sure it was invalid may be wrong about the ground. The RTB exists to decide that, and both sides are protected while it does.

So the landlord's route is the RTB and the court, however long it takes. The tenant's route is the RTB within the window, however strong the case feels. A tenant who stays without referring the notice, and a landlord who changes the locks without an order, have each stepped outside the Act.

What to do before the date

Check the notice now, not on the last day. If anything is missing, refer it to the RTB inside the window and keep paying rent. If the notice met the Act and you need more time, ask the landlord in writing for it. A landlord facing an RTB application that will take months may agree to a later date in exchange for certainty, and an agreement in writing protects you both. The letter builder has a confirm-in-writing letter.

If you will have nowhere to go on the termination date, contact the local authority's homeless service before the date, not after. The day the notice runs out lists the services, what to bring and what to ask. Where the notice was served for a sale, ask the local authority about the tenant-in-situ scheme as well.

Keep the home in good order and keep paying. Whatever you decide, a tenant who paid the rent and kept the place well is in a better position before the RTB than one who did not.

Where this leaves you

Overholding is staying after a valid notice has run out. It is not a crime, and the landlord's only lawful answer is an RTB determination order and then the District Court, never the locks or the services. For the tenant it carries real risks: damages, costs, a published report with your name on it, and an enforceable order. The first step is to find out whether the notice met the Act, and the second is to refer it to the RTB inside the window if it did not. Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454 before the date, keep paying rent, and put every request in writing. The notice journey takes the steps in order.