What is a Tenancy Tribunal hearing?
A Tenancy Tribunal hearing will be a full hearing of all the relevant facts of the dispute. Even though the case has already been dealt with by an adjudicator or a mediator, both parties have the opportunity to present the case in its entirety and the Tenancy Tribunal will make a decision on the information presented to it. Parties will be provided with an opportunity to submit any further evidence they deem relevant to their case to the RTB prior to the Tribunal hearing.
What happens when an appeal to Tribunal is submitted complete and on time?
Before an appeal can be deemed to be a valid appeal, the RTB must consider and grant the appeal. The applicant will be notified of the RTB's decision and only then will the case be referred to a Tenancy Tribunal.
How soon will the appeal be heard?
Due to the large volume of cases coming before the RTB, it is expected that, after lodging a valid appeal, the average timeframe after which your case is likely to be scheduled is within one to two months following the granting of the appeal. Therefore, if there is a genuine issue with availability for any given period of time, please tell us as soon as the appeal has been granted in order for avoid the need for rescheduling.
Can a Tribunal hearing be adjourned?
Only in rare cases. If you cannot attend the hearing, you may nominate someone to attend in your place or you may submit a written statement to the tribunal for it to consider at the hearing in your absence. You may have to show written proof (for example, pre-booked airline tickets) to verify why you cannot attend on the scheduled date.
When will the hearing be held?
All parties to a dispute, will be notified at least 21 days prior to the date on which the Tribunal hearing is due to be held. A Notice of Tenancy Tribunal Hearing will be issued and will include the date, time, venue and purpose of the hearing.
Once notified of an appeal application, if you have any period of unavailability, you should notify the RTB immediately. We will endeavour to accommodate any unavailable dates when scheduling your Tribunal hearing, where possible.
In certain circumstances parties may be given a shorter period of notice if:
- One or more of the parties' requests a shorter period and the other party consent to this request.
- The dispute concerns alleged behaviour by one of the parties that poses an imminent danger of death or serious injury or imminent danger to the fabric of the dwelling concerned or the property containing that dwelling.
- Where one or more of the parties indicates that there is financial or other hardship.
If parties wish to request a lesser period, they should send a submission in this regard. If you are considering sending such a submission, it would be in your best interest to do it as soon as possible. Even if parties don’t intend to appeal, it is still open to them to make such a submission based on the basis of an appeal being lodged.
Where will the Tribunal hearing be held?
The RTB operates on a national level and Mediation and Adjudication hearings are held in the following centres: Dublin City (RTB HQ), Cork City, Galway City, Limerick City, Sligo Town, Athlone and Wexford Town.
The Tribunal hearing will be held at a venue within a reasonable distance from the location of the dwelling, the subject of the dispute.
*Currently, the RTB are offering virtual Tribunal hearings via Microsoft Teams, due to the Covid 19 pandemic. This has allowed the RTB to proceed with processing all dispute and appeal applications throughout this period in which social distancing guidelines have varied and has ensured the safety of all parties involved in a dispute can be accommodated.