J6 · 5 steps
I'm moving in
Most deposit disputes and most rent disputes are decided by what was written down in the first week. Five steps that take about an hour between them and settle most of the arguments before they start.
Checked 27 OCT 2026A deposit of no more than one month's rent and rent in advance of no more than one month. A written agreement you have read. The landlord's name and an address for notices. The RTB registration number, or a written promise to register: the rent tax credit needs it.
For a tenancy that began on or after 1 March 2026 the landlord must give you and the RTB a statement of the previous rent, when it was set, and three comparable rents. It is your first evidence if the rent was set above what the cap allowed.
An inventory room by room signed by both sides, forty dated photographs, the meter readings, the alarms tested, the keys counted, the BER certificate seen. The checklist walks the rooms.
This is the deposit's evidence, gathered when it costs nothing.
You are entitled to a rent book or an equivalent written record of every payment under the 1993 Regulations. Ask for it in the first month, or keep your own and send the landlord a copy.
The credit is worth up to €1,000 a year, or €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple, and can be claimed for the current year on myAccount. If you are on a work permit, the registered tenancy and the agreement are the documents an immigration application accepts; StampWise lists them.
Questions people ask
The landlord wants two months' deposit. Is that allowed?
No. Since 9 August 2021 a deposit is capped at one month's rent and advance rent at one month, so at most two months' money changes hands up front. A request for more is a breach the RTB can deal with; a written refusal with the section quoted usually ends it.
There is no written lease. Am I still a tenant?
Yes. A tenancy can be oral, and the Act applies whatever the paperwork says. Get the terms in writing anyway, even an email that sets out the rent, the date it is due and the start date.
The landlord will not give me an RTB number.
Check the public register. If the tenancy is not registered you still have every right under the Act, but you cannot claim the rent tax credit until it is. Ask in writing; the RTB can be told.