Chapter 7 of 10 · The RTB process · 7 of 8
RTB fees and time limits
Mediation free, adjudication €30, tribunal €30 or €85. 90 days for a notice, 28 for a breach notice, 10 working days to appeal.
Checked 27 OCT 2026 · 4 sourcesPublic hearings. Since 14 September 2026 adjudication hearings are public and the published report names both parties and the address. Mediation stays private. Choose between them knowing that.
Written in plain English for the person paying the rent. This guide covers the Republic of Ireland only.
An RTB dispute costs nothing at mediation and €30 at adjudication. An appeal to a tribunal costs €30 where the case came from mediation and €85 where it came from adjudication. There is nothing else to pay, and a solicitor is not needed: the process is designed for tenants and landlords who represent themselves.
The time limits matter more than the fees, because a missed window closes the door. A notice of termination must be referred within 90 days of service, or 28 days for a breach notice. A rent review must be challenged in the 28 days before the new rent would start. An appeal to a tribunal must be lodged within 10 working days. Most other matters carry a general six-year limit.
Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, as soon as you have a notice or a letter in your hand. The advisers will tell you which window applies and whether it is still open.
The fees
| Stage | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mediation | Free | Private; nothing is published |
| Adjudication | €30 | Public for applications from 14 September 2026 |
| Tribunal appeal after mediation | €30 | Within 10 working days of the mediation outcome |
| Tribunal appeal after adjudication | €85 | Within 10 working days of the adjudication report |
| Responding to an application against you | Free | Whoever applies pays |
| Enforcement of a determination order | No RTB fee | The RTB can take the case to the District Court for you |
The fee is paid online when you make the application. There is no fee to respond to a landlord's application against you, and no fee for the RTB to enforce a determination order on your behalf.
The Act lets an adjudicator or a tribunal direct one party to pay the other's fee, or a sum towards their costs, but that is unusual. Treat the fee as the cost of a binding decision and claim the loss you can prove, not the fee.
The time limits
| Matter | Time limit | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| A notice of termination (most grounds) | 90 days | The date of service |
| A notice citing a breach of your obligations, including arrears | 28 days | The date of service |
| A rent review | 28 days before the new rent takes effect | The date the new rent would start |
| An appeal to a tribunal | 10 working days | The date the adjudication report or mediation outcome issues |
| An appeal to the High Court on a point of law | 21 days | The date of the tribunal's determination |
| A deposit, damages, repairs and most other matters | Six years, generally | When the matter arose |
The 90-day window is new. Before 1 March 2026 a tenant had 28 days to refer any notice, and the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 raised the general window to 90. The 28-day window stayed for a notice that cites a breach of the tenant's obligations, which includes rent arrears after a warning notice. The notice itself must tell you which window applies.
The date of service is the day the notice reached you. For a notice sent by email or handed to you, that is the day it was sent or handed over. For a posted notice, since the High Court's decision in Argutinski v RTB, it is the day it was delivered or received, not the day on the envelope. Write down the day it arrived. The notice checker counts the window from your date of service and gives the last day.
What the windows mean in practice
A notice dispute made inside the window puts the notice's validity before the RTB, and the tenancy continues while the dispute runs. A dispute made after the window may be refused, and the RTB has a discretion to accept a late one only where there is a good reason. Do not rely on that discretion. If you are near the last day, apply and add the documents later rather than wait for a complete bundle.
A rent review dispute inside the 28 days pauses the review. The old rent continues to be the rent until the RTB decides, and the landlord cannot treat the increase as due. A dispute after the new rent has started is still possible under the general limit, and rent paid over the cap can be ordered repaid, but the review is not paused. Challenging a rent increase covers the steps and the evidence.
The six-year limit comes from s.80 of the Act and applies to a deposit, damages for a breach of obligations, and most other matters. It is a long stop, not a target. The RTB expects an application without undue delay, and a deposit claim made two years after you moved out is harder to prove than one made in the first month.
The appeal window
Ten working days is short. Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, so an adjudication report issued on a Thursday before a bank holiday weekend gives you until the Friday of the week after next. Count it on the day the report arrives and put the last day in your tenancy file.
An appeal is a fresh hearing before a three-person tribunal, not a review of the adjudicator's reasoning. The other party can appeal too, and often does when the adjudicator awarded a sum they dispute. Appealing to a tribunal sets out the form, the fee and the evidence rule. If nobody appeals in time, the RTB issues a determination order on the adjudicator's decision.
Fixed payment notices are different
Since 14 September 2026 the RTB can issue a fixed payment notice to a landlord for certain breaches: €200 where rent was set above the cap, and €100 for registration and rent-information breaches. These are the RTB's own enforcement, like a parking fine, and are separate from a dispute. A tenant does not pay them, does not apply for them and does not receive the money. A tenant's own remedy for rent above the cap is a dispute, where the RTB can order the overpayment repaid with damages up to €20,000.
Where this leaves you
Mediation is free, adjudication is €30, and a tribunal appeal is €30 or €85 depending on where the case came from. The windows are 90 days for a notice, 28 days for a breach notice, 28 days before a rent review takes effect, 10 working days to appeal, and six years for most other matters. Count every window from the day the document reached you, write that day down, and let the notice checker give you the last day for a notice. Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454 with the dates in front of you. How to make an RTB dispute application takes you through the form itself.
Questions people ask
Is there a fee for an RTB dispute?
Mediation is free. Adjudication costs €30. An appeal to a tribunal costs €30 if the case came from mediation and €85 if it came from adjudication. The fee is paid online when you apply, and there is no fee to respond to an application made against you.
How long do I have to dispute a notice of termination?
90 days from the date of service for most notices, and 28 days where the notice cites a breach of your obligations, including rent arrears. Before 1 March 2026 the window was 28 days for every notice. For a posted notice, count from the day it arrived.
How long do I have to appeal an RTB decision?
10 working days from the date the adjudication report or the mediation outcome is issued to you. Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. A late appeal is not accepted, and the determination order then issues on the original decision.
Is there a time limit for a deposit dispute?
There is no short window. The general limit for a dispute that is not about a notice or a rent review is six years, under s.80 of the Act. The RTB still expects you to apply without undue delay, and evidence is easier to gather while it is fresh.
Can I get the fee back?
The Act allows an adjudicator or tribunal to direct one party to pay the other's costs or fee, but it is not the usual order, and you should not count on it. Treat the €30 as the price of a binding decision.