Accessibility Statement 

The Residential Tenancies Board is committed to ensuring its website is accessible for all users and improvements are continually made for the user experience applying the relevant accessibility standards.  

This accessibility statement applies to content published on www.rtb.ie. 

This statement was prepared in November 2022, in conjunction with an independent audit that involved a blend of manual and automated accessibility tests. This statement was last reviewed in January 2023. The RTB aims to conduct accessibility audits at intervals of 6 months.

Compliance Status 

The National Disability Authority monitors the compliance of our website and mobile applications with accessibility requirements as set out in the Regulations. As a public sector body, the Residential Tenancies Board must keep an updated comprehensive Accessibility Statement on the compliance of our website with these regulations. 

The RTB website is partially compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 level AA. 

The website was tested using multiple platforms Windows (JAWS, NVDA), Mac (VoiceOver), iOS (VoiceOver) and Android (TalkBack) and their native accessibility tools. A detailed issue log was created to measure against WCAG 2.1 standards. These issues were presented to the development team who are amending these issues and bringing the website in to WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides a list of web accessibility evaluation tools.  

Planned accessibility improvements  

In accordance with the Regulations, the Residential Tenancies Board will take necessary measures to make our website and mobile applications more accessible by aligning them with the principles of universal design so that it can be "accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability or disability". 

The RTB is working with our external web design suppliers, who have expertise in creating accessible websites, to improve the accessibility compliance of our websites; our application of all accessibility standards to content being published on our website; and delivering an accessibility experience for all. 

We are committed to accessibility improvements including a planned introduction of an accessible design system which will unify disjointed experiences, so everything is visually cohesive.  

Please find below the latest non-accessible content areas which we are currently working to improve: 

  • Keyboard/Screen reader navigation is not yet accessible on parts of the website. 
  • Images – we are currently working through images to add contextual alternative text.
  • Forms – we are currently working on accessibility validation and error handling focus.
  • Tables – we are working to create correctly labelled and accessible tables.
  • Link text – we are working to remove “click here”, “read more” and any other link labels that do not give context. We will use a unique link name when possible or an ARIA label. 
  • Document accessibility has not yet been implemented. 
  • Correctly structured content with good heading usage – we are creating logical heading structures on our pages.
  • Cross operating system compatibility – has not yet been implemented in every section. We are currently updating CSS for desktop and mobile. 
  • Charts and infographics – we are working through these to provide text alternatives. 
  • Mobile navigation – along with cross operating system compatibility, once CSS has been updated, we will audit for mobile navigation and ease of use for screen readers.

We are continually seeking out solutions that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility.   

Technical specifications 

This RTB website has been built using code compliant with W3C standards for HTML and CSS. The site displays correctly in current browsers and using standards compliant HTML/CSS code means any future browsers will also display it correctly.  

Our website is currently compatible with the following web browsers: 

  • Firefox 
  • Safari 
  • Chrome 
  • Internet Explorer 11+ 
  • Microsoft Edge 

 and the following devices & OS: 

  • iOS 11+ iPad 
  • iOS 12+ iPhone 
  • Android v9.0+ on Google Pixel 
  • Android v7.0+ Samsung Galaxy S8 & S9 
  • Windows 8.1+ 
  • OSX  

Feedback and contact information 

Feedback, queries and complaints about accessibility are dealt with by our Access Officer, Linda Ryan, (Residential Tenancies Board, PO Box 12323, Dublin 2; Telephone number: 0818 30 30 37 / 01 702 8100; accessofficer@rtb.ie), who provides, arranges for and coordinates assistance and guidance to persons with disabilities accessing the services we provide.  

The relevant redress and complaints provisions are set out in statute in the Equal Status Act 2000 (No.8 of 2000) and the Disability Act 2005 (No.14 of 2005). 

If you wish to request content in an accessible format, please include the following detail:

  • Your required format. 
  • The content you wish to receive (please include the URL of the content) 
  • Your name and email address. 

We will make all reasonable efforts to fulfil your request. We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 5 business days and to propose a solution within 10 business days. Please note, there are certain content exemptions as set out in Directive (EU) 2016/2102. 

If you are not happy with the response to your complaint, you can ask the Ombudsman to look into your complaint. Here is contact information and guidance on making a complaint from the Office of the Ombudsman.