Temporary pause on the charging of late fees
In recognition of the genuine difficulties among its user community, the Residential Tenancies Board will be applying a temporary pause on the charging of late fees. This applies for the following tenancies:
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new tenancy registrations with a tenancy commencement date on or after the 12 November 2022, and
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for annual registrations of existing tenancies which became due on or after 12 November 2022.
Landlords and agents please take note of the below scenarios which may apply to your tenancy registrations:
- Upcoming registrations: Any landlords/ agents who are registering a new tenancy registration with a tenancy commencement date on or after 12 November 2022 or are completing an annual registration of an existing tenancy which becomes due on or after 12 November 2022 will not be charged late fees.
- Late registrations: Landlords/ agents who have yet to register a tenancy which was due for registration as a new tenancy registration with a tenancy commencement date on or after the 4 April 2022 or have yet to complete an annual registration of an existing tenancy which became due on or after 4 April 2022 up to 12 November 2022 will still be charged late fees. However, all late fees will be refunded commencing in early January.
- Tenancies already registered: Any landlords/agents who have already registered a new tenancy registration with a tenancy commencement date on or after the 4 April 2022 or completed an annual registration of an existing tenancy which became due on or after 3 August 2022 where late fees were paid will be refunded from January onwards.
Please note that this will not apply to any late fees which have accumulated prior to the introduction of annual registration on 4 April 2022. This also does not apply to providers of Student Specific Accommodation (SSA).
A landlord is still obliged to register a tenancy - or a licence in Student Specific Accommodation (SSA) with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) within 1 month of its commencement date and every year after this, on the anniversary of the date the tenancy began, for so long as the tenancy/SSA licence exists.
Refund of late fees
The RTB will commence refunds to all landlords and agents from early January. Card and cheque refunds will be processed initially, other means such as PayPal will be processed thereafter.
All recipients of a late fee refund will receive a letter including:
- RT Number
- Dwelling Address
- Account Holder Name and address
- Late fee amount being refunded
Please note that once the refund is processed, how long it takes to appear in your account will depend on the card issuer and/or bank.
Contacting the RTB
The RTB would like to reassure customers that if you have sent an email to the RTB, it will be responded to. We would ask customers to bear with us and where possible avoid sending follow up emails, as we are working hard to clear our backlog.
There are designated inboxes to help streamline Registration queries.
- If you are experiencing an issue linking existing data from the old system to your online account, please use datalinking@rtb.ie.
- If you have a general Registration query, please contact registrations@rtb.ie.
- If you are an approved housing body landlord and have a query on registrations, please contact ahb@rtb.ie.
It is important that only one email address is contacted as this will allow us to move through queries in a timelier manner. We thank you for your cooperation on this.
How to register a tenancy
The most efficient way to register your tenancy is by using the RTB’s online account system, which can be accessed here. Helpful videos showing the steps involved to set up a new RTB Online Account, link to your existing tenancy registration data and the steps to register a tenancy can be found here.
Once your account has been created and any relevant data linked to your online portal, when completing an annual registration, it is important that customers proceed to their ‘Manage Registrations’ page and review any registrations at a status of ‘Pending Registration’. We ask that when completing an annual registration that landlords and agents ensure they are re-registering the existing tenancy registration and not proceeding to register a ‘New’ tenancy registration.
What are the penalties for not registering a tenancy?
The RTB does not wish to apply penalties or prosecute landlords and the temporary suspension of late fees is to assist landlords to comply with the registration of their tenancies. The RTB will continue to monitor the new system and customer service channels and will notify landlords and agents in good time via the RTB website as to when the charging of late fees will recommence. The RTB encourages landlords and agents to process their registrations in a timely fashion to ensure that wherever possible registrations are processed within one month of the tenancy commencement date.
Tenancies of Unlimited Duration
As a reminder to landlords, all new tenancies created on or after 11 June 2022 became tenancies of unlimited duration. This applies once the tenancy has lasted more than six months, and no notice of termination has been validly served on the tenant. A landlord will still have the right to terminate a tenancy on the specific grounds provided in the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) (RTA 2004). Further information can be found here.
For tenancies that began after 24 December 2016, after 6-months probationary period of the tenancy, the tenant secures the right to remain in the property for a further five and a half years and the tenancy is referred to as a 'Part 4’ tenancy.' Tenancies that existed prior to 11 June 2022 will convert to Tenancies of Unlimited Duration at the end of the current 6-year cycle.
Further Part 4 Tenancies & Fees
The RTB would like to remind Private and Approved Housing Body (AHB) landlord/agents that if the existing tenancy became a Further Part Four (FP4) renewal tenancy before 4 April 2022 – when switching to annual registration on or after 4 April 2022 no registration fee will be applicable. This applies once the tenancy is registered on time each year. This fee waiver will remain until the existing 6-year tenancy expires. If the annual registration is processed late, the registration fee and late fees will be applicable.
Examples:
- A FP4 tenancy which was registered in 2017 and paid €90/€180 until 2023 – Will switch to Annual Registration in 2022 but no further payment is required until 2023 once the tenancy is registered on time each year.
- A FP4 tenancy which was registered in 2018 and paid €90/€180 until 2024 – Will switch to Annual Registration in 2022 but no further payment is required until 2024 once the tenancy is registered on time each year.
- A FP4 tenancy which was registered in 2019 and paid €90/€180 until 2025 - Will switch to Annual Registration in 2022 but no further payment is required until 2025 once the tenancy is registered on time each year.
- A FP4 tenancy which was registered in 2020 and paid €90/€180 until 2026 - Will switch to Annual Registration in 2022 but no further payment is required until 2026 once the tenancy is registered on time each year.
Please note the above rules do not apply to FP4 tenancies with a tenancy commencement date in 2021. In this instance the tenancy will move to Annual Registration in 2022 and the fees apply.
RTB Residential Tenancy Agreement
The RTB has also published a new resource specifically for landlords in the form of a template Residential Tenancy Agreement. This new template lease agreement was created to help landlords and tenants get their tenancies off to the right start. It also includes a sample inventory report.
The template contains the basics of a residential tenancy agreement to help landlords and tenants set out the terms of their relationship. Landlords and tenants are encouraged to enter into a written tenancy agreement so that they are clear on the obligations that they owe each other. This template is suitable for new residential tenancies created on or after 11 June 2022, with the exception of tenancies provided by AHBs, including cost rental tenancies, and Student Specific Accommodation. The RTB’s Residential Tenancy Agreement template can be found here and the sample inventory report can be found here.
Please be aware of scams
The RTB reminds people to be aware of potentially fraudulent rental advertisements and tenancy agreements. If an individual responds to a private rental advertisement and receives forms purporting to be from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage or the RTB in return, they should not engage further with them. Anyone who believes they have mistakenly provided personal information or paid a deposit in response to these types of fraudulent advertisements and false rental applications/tenancy agreements calls should immediately alert An Garda Síochána.