Additional changes to Ireland's rental laws have come into effect as of 14 September 2026 through further amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) (the "2004 Act") introduced under the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 (the "2026 Housing Act")[1]. These amendments build further on the major changes introduced in March 2026.
The amendments of the 2004 Act by the 2026 Housing Act affect landlords, tenants and all other stakeholders involved in Ireland's rental sector. We have outlined below the points of particular importance, including a high-level overview of changes with respect to RTB dispute resolution procedures, landlords' compliance obligations, and service requirements in respect of notices being served under the 2004 Act.
Key changes
1. Public adjudication hearings
One of the most significant procedural changes is the requirement that all RTB adjudication hearings going forward will be held in public, bar "rare and exceptional circumstances". The stated purpose for this change is to create greater transparency in RTB dispute resolution cases. Many stakeholders in the sector will be aware that RTB tribunal hearings are already held in public. With the new amendment, this will now also apply to RTB adjudication hearings.
In particular, Section 35 of the 2026 Housing Act amends Section 97 of the 2004 Act by providing that an adjudication shall be conducted in public, if special circumstances exist the RTB may determine that the adjudication (or part of it) should be conducted in private.
As a result of this change, members of the media will also have the opportunity to attend hearings and report on details of the published dispute/hearings.
It is worth noting that this only applies to disputes that are lodged with the RTB starting on 14 September 2026 and will not be applied retrospectively to dispute applications that are in the RTB system prior to that date.
Finally, although adjudication hearings will be held in public going forward, disputes that are referred to mediation instead will continue to be conducted in private and the outcomes of mediations will continue to not be published. Also, in the event a matter referred to adjudication is settled on consent by the parties before the hearing commences, the details of the settlement will likely not be published.
This measure has likely been introduced in response to the Supreme Court decision in Zalewski v. Adjudication Officer and WRC, Ireland and the Attorney General [2021] IESC 24 where the Court held that a blanket ban on public hearings at the WRC was unconstitutional in circumstances where those hearings were deemed to be an administration of justice. It will be interesting to see whether this change also leads to an increased number of mediations as an alternative means of dispute resolution, should the parties involved prefer not to have the details of their dispute made public.
2. Changes to dispute timelines
Also, with respect to the RTB dispute resolution process, the 2026 Housing Act introduces changes that are designed to create a more consistent and efficient process by standardising RTB appeal deadlines and reducing delays in the handling of disputes.
It should be particularly noted that, as of 14 September 2026, the RTB can now give 10 working days' notice of a tribunal hearing to the parties involved in a dispute case, rather than the previous 21-day notice. The aim of this reduction in the notification period (by approximately one week) is to process tribunal cases in a faster manner.
Also from 14 September 2026, parties involved in a dispute will now have 10 working days to appeal a mediation outcome to a tribunal hearing, whereas previously the appeal period was 10 calendar days. This change was made so that the mediation appeal period is in line with the adjudication appeal period of 10 working days.
3. New enforcement powers
Fixed payment notices may now be issued by the RTB to landlords in relation to the following six categories of non-compliance/breaches:
- Failure to register a tenancy
- Failure to provide information as to how the rent was calculated and set at the start of the tenancy
- Failure to update tenancy details
- Failure to notify the RTB of an exemption from rent-setting restrictions
- Failure to provide a rent review notice in the correct manner
- Setting rent above the legal limit
This is a brand new measure - while contraventions under most of the six categories above were already offences and/or deemed to be misconduct under the 2004 Act, the only escalation methods were prosecution through the District Court with the RTB as prosecutor or, where the contravention amounts to "improper conduct", being addressed through the RTB's investigations and sanctions regime as appropriate. The ability of the RTB to issue fixed payment notices will no doubt be a useful compliance measure to encourage landlords, where notified of the Board's reasonable opinion that there has been a contravention, to engage with the RTB and, most importantly, address the contravention.
Depending on the nature of the contravention, the amounts in the fixed payment notice can range from €100 up to €1,000 - the Minister may prescribe the relevant amount depending on the type of non-compliance at issue. Breaches relating to setting and reviewing rent attract a higher value rate for fixed payment notices.
These measures underscore the importance for landlords to familiarise themselves with the requirements at the commencement of tenancies as well as when reviewing rents. It should be remembered that these fixed payment notices operate alongside the RTB's existing investigation and prosecution powers and so represent a strengthening of the RTB's powers. It is a clear signal that contravention of these obligations is an area of particular focus for the RTB - however, the mechanism may also be seen as an added opportunity for landlords to address their non-compliance before a breach leads to a prosecution.
4. Adjusted notice timelines and service requirements
The amendments under the 2026 Housing Act now give landlords additional time to send copies of notices to the RTB when serving that notice on a tenant.
Previous amendments to the 2004 Act required that certain notices, such as a notice of termination or notice of rent review, had to be sent to the RTB on the same day that it was served on the tenant - otherwise the relevant notice would be deemed invalid.
A decision of the High Court earlier this year (Argutinski v RTB [2026] IEHC 225) ruled that a notice under the 2004 Act which had been issued by post was not served until it would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post or on the date it was actually received by the tenant. Accordingly, should a landlord put a notice of termination in the post to the tenant and upload it via the portal to the RTB on a Wednesday, it would fall foul of the same day service requirement - while the RTB would receive the notice on the Wednesday, the tenant would not receive the notice (and be deemed "served" under the Argutinski interpretation) until a day or more after this (i.e., not on the same day).
There are also implications for notices of termination in particular since one of the specific requirements under section 62 of the 2004 Act for such a notice to be valid is that it must specify the date of service on the tenant - the date of service is hard to specify accurately post-Argutinski if that notice is being sent by post.
The amendments introduced by the 2026 Housing Act partly address this issue as, from 14 September 2026, landlords issuing notices such as a notice of termination or a rent review notice which need to be sent to the RTB also will now have 7 days to submit a copy of notice to the RTB after serving it on the tenant. It is important to note that the RTB recommends that that notices are submitted to the RTB through the online RTB Service Centre.
This will be seen as a welcome amendment to aid compliance with the service requirements under the 2004 Act and follows the introduction of valid service of notices by email as introduced by amendments commenced in March 2026.
Of course, it is still open to a landlord to issue these notices on the same day to both the tenant and the RTB, where using email/electronic means of service.
The amendments made to the 2004 Act by the 2026 Housing Act do not, however, address the issues arising post-Argutinski for the requirement to specify the date of service of a notice of termination on the face of that notice in order for it to be valid. Since it is quite difficult, if not impossible, to particularise a date of service into the future with absolute certainty, the RTB recommends that notices of termination are not served on the tenant by post but rather hand-delivered to the address/to the tenant in person or emailed (where appropriate) on the date that that is specified as the date of service on the face of the notice.
Since the same issues do not arise for rent review notices or rent setting notices (as they are not required to specify the date of service on their face), it is still possible to serve them by post as well as hand-delivery to the address or to the tenant in person, or by email (i.e., all the methods available under section 6 of the 2004 Act, as amended). The RTB has summarised the different service treatments in the press release to notify of the changes taking effect from 14 September 2026.
- Rent review and rent setting notices: can be served on a tenant by e-mail, post, or hand-delivered, with a copy sent to the RTB via the portal within 7 days.
- Notices of termination: As the tenant must receive the notice on the date of service listed in the notice, the RTB recommends that the best practice is for landlords to e-mail the notice to the tenant, to ensure they receive it on the correct date, (i.e., the date on the notice). If a landlord is unable to serve the notice by e-mail, they can hand-deliver it to the tenant or leave it at the property. Whatever method is used, the landlord must send a copy to the RTB via the portal within 7 days.
What does this all of this mean for landlord and tenants?
These are significant changes coming shortly after the heavily publicised amendments which came into effect in March 2026. The legislation regulating residential tenancies is getting ever more complex.
Landlords, in particular, should familiarise themselves with the new requirements, including updates regarding the fixed payment notice breaches and regarding service of notices to ensure full compliance and to avoid penalties and procedural errors that can lead to unwanted and costly setbacks. Landlords should ensure that tenancy registrations, rent reviews, and notice of terminations are managed correctly as per the new requirements.
Both landlords and tenants should be aware that most RTB adjudication hearings will be held in public going forward (for disputes lodged on or after 14 September 2026) and the details of the cases will be published online for the public to review, including the opportunity for the media to contact the parties for comment and/or to report on the cases. However, the option of mediation remains available to parties involved in a tenancy dispute as a means to resolve the matter through a private and confidential process.
If you wish to discuss any of the points highlighted in this briefing note, please contact Brian Ormond at bormond@dacbeachcroft.com, Beth Bolger at bbolger@dacbeachcroft.com or your usual contact in the DAC Beachcroft Ireland LLP Regulatory Team.
[1] The measures discussed in this note have been commenced pursuant to S.I No. 434/2026 - Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 (Commencement) (No.2) Order 2026, signed 18 August 2026
