RTB hearings are public since 14 September 2026

Since 14 September 2026 an RTB adjudication hearing is open to the public, and the published report names the tenant, the landlord and the address of the dwelling. The rule applies to applications made on or after that date. Tribunal hearings and reports were already public. Mediation stays private, and nothing from it is published.

The change came in the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, commenced by S.I. 434/2026. The aim stated in the Oireachtas was transparency and a record that landlords and tenants can learn from. The effect for you is that a €30 adjudication is now a matter of public record, and the choice between mediation and adjudication carries a privacy question it did not carry before.

Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, before you apply if publication worries you. The advisers can say whether mediation would suit your facts, and the RTB process is built for people who represent themselves either way.

What changed, and from when

Before 14 September 2026 adjudication hearings were held in private and the RTB published adjudication reports with the names and the address removed. A reader could see what the adjudicator decided and why, but not who the parties were.

For an application made on or after 14 September 2026 the hearing is public. Members of the public, including journalists, can attend. The case is listed on the RTB's weekly hearing list in advance. The adjudicator's report is published with the names of both parties, the address of the dwelling, a summary of the evidence and the decision.

An application made before that date keeps the old rule even if its hearing takes place after it. The date that matters is the date the RTB received the application, which is on your confirmation email. Put it in your tenancy file.

Tribunal hearings have been public, and tribunal determinations published with names, since the RTB was set up. The 2026 Act brought adjudication into line with them. Mediation was untouched: it is a private process by design, its outcome is not published, and nothing said in it can be used at a later hearing.

The weekly hearing list

The RTB publishes a list of the coming week's adjudication and tribunal hearings on its own site. Each entry gives the case reference, the parties, the address, the type of dispute, and the date and format of the hearing. The list is how a member of the public finds a hearing to attend.

This site does not copy the list and never will; the RTB's page is the only accurate version. If you are a party, the RTB's own notice of hearing tells you the date, the time and whether the hearing is in person, by video or by telephone. That notice is what you work from.

What the published report contains

An adjudication report sets out who applied, what they asked for, what each side said at the hearing, what documents were produced, the adjudicator's findings on the facts, the law applied, and the decision. Since 14 September 2026 it carries the names of both parties and the address.

The report is a public document and is findable by searching the RTB's site. Assume that a future landlord, a reference check, an employer or a neighbour could read it. The same is true for the landlord, whose conduct is set out under their name, which is one reason the change was made.

What the report does not contain is anything from a mediation, anything the adjudicator excluded, or material a party sent to the RTB but did not rely on. It also does not contain your PPS number, your bank details or your date of birth; the RTB removes personal data that is not part of the decision.

Why mediation stays private

Mediation only works if both sides can speak freely, so the Act keeps it confidential. The mediator does not report what was said, the agreement is not published, and if mediation fails the adjudicator hears the case with no knowledge of the offers made.

For many tenants this is a reason to try mediation first. An agreement reached at mediation becomes a binding determination order after a short cooling-off period, so privacy costs you nothing in enforceability. The limits are that mediation needs the landlord's agreement, and that a landlord who will not engage leaves you with adjudication as the only route to a decision. Mediation, adjudication or tribunal compares the three.

If publication puts you at risk

Some tenants have a serious reason not to be named with their address in a public document. A protection order or a safety order against a former partner. An asylum or immigration application in progress. An employer who is also the landlord. A job that depends on not being findable.

If that is you, choose mediation and say so on the form. If the landlord refuses, write to the RTB before the hearing date, explain the risk plainly, and ask how the hearing and the report can be managed. The RTB has a discretion over the conduct of a hearing, though the Act now sets publication as the default and the RTB cannot simply promise anonymity. Threshold can help with the letter, and the letter builder has a confirm-in-writing format to adapt. Keep a copy of what you sent and the RTB's reply.

Do not let the publication rule stop you using the RTB where you need it. A deposit kept without reason, a notice that may be invalid, a lock-out: these are still decided by the RTB, and a tenant who stays silent to stay private loses the remedy. Weigh the two honestly, with Threshold on the line.

What this means for the landlord

The rule cuts both ways. A landlord found to have kept a deposit without reason, served a defective notice or ignored a repair is now named in a public report under the address. A landlord facing an adjudication has the same reason as a tenant to consider mediation, and some will agree to it for that reason alone. If the landlord's agent suggests mediation after refusing to talk for months, that is why.

Where this leaves you

For applications from 14 September 2026 an RTB adjudication is a public hearing, listed in advance, with a published report that names both parties and the address. Mediation remains free, private and unpublished, and a mediated agreement is as enforceable as any order. The date that decides which rule applies is the date your application reached the RTB. Choose mediation where privacy matters and the landlord will engage, adjudication where you need a decision, and write to the RTB in advance if publication puts you at risk. Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454 first. How to make an RTB dispute application takes you through the form.