Starting a new tenancy involves more than finding a tenant and agreeing on a monthly rent.
Landlords in Ireland have a range of responsibilities before a tenant moves into a property, from keeping proper records of deposits and preparing a written tenancy agreement to documenting the condition of the home and complying with rent-setting rules.
The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has published a checklist covering some of the main steps landlords should take when beginning a tenancy.
For landlords starting a tenancy in 2026, those checks are particularly important because Ireland’s rental rules changed on 1 March, introducing new requirements around rent setting, rent reviews and security of tenure for new private tenancies.
Check the tenant and understand the tenancy rules
Before agreeing to a tenancy, landlords should carry out appropriate reference checks and make sure they understand both their own legal responsibilities and those of the tenant.
The RTB also advises landlords to search its published dispute outcomes for information relating to prospective tenants.
That does not remove the landlord’s responsibility to comply with equality and housing law. Tenant screening should be carried out fairly and consistently rather than being used to discriminate against applicants.
A landlord should also understand the rules that will apply to the particular tenancy before signing an agreement.
This is increasingly important because the rules applying to a tenancy created from 1 March 2026 can differ from those applying to an older tenancy.
Keep a clear record of the deposit
Before the tenancy begins, the landlord should keep a written record showing how much security deposit the tenant has paid.
The tenant should receive a receipt for the payment and should be told who is holding the deposit and who will return it at the end of the tenancy.
Keeping a clear paper trail can become particularly valuable if there is later a disagreement about the amount paid or whether deductions from the deposit are justified.
A landlord should therefore retain records of payments and relevant communications throughout the tenancy rather than attempting to reconstruct them after a dispute has arisen.
Put the tenancy agreement in writing
A written tenancy agreement gives both sides a record of the arrangements they have agreed to.
The agreement should clearly identify the property, landlord and tenant and set out the arrangements for rent and deposits.
It should also explain the responsibilities of both parties, any additional terms applying to the tenancy and the procedures for ending the tenancy.
The RTB recommends that the tenant receives a copy of the agreement before the tenancy begins.
A written agreement does not override the law. A term in a tenancy agreement cannot be relied upon simply because both parties signed it if that term conflicts with the tenant’s statutory rights.
Document the condition of the property
One of the simplest ways for a landlord and tenant to reduce the risk of a dispute is to create a detailed record of the property’s condition at the beginning of the tenancy.
The RTB recommends preparing an inventory of the contents and their condition, with both landlord and tenant signing the record.
Dated photographs can provide additional evidence.
The purpose is not simply administrative.
If there is a disagreement at the end of the tenancy about damage, missing items or the condition of the property, records made when the tenant moved in can help establish what the property looked like at the beginning.
Landlords should therefore keep the inventory, photographs and relevant correspondence securely for the duration of the tenancy and afterwards where necessary.
Give the tenant the necessary contact information
The landlord should provide their contact details to the tenant.
Where an agent manages the property, the relevant agent’s contact information should also be supplied.
The tenant should know who to contact when repairs, maintenance issues or other tenancy matters arise.
Landlords should likewise maintain accurate records of the tenant’s contact information.
The RTB checklist also refers to collecting a tenant’s PPS number because it can help the RTB locate the tenant if a dispute arises.
Because a PPS number is personal information, landlords should handle it securely and only collect and retain personal data where they have a proper legal basis and a genuine need to do so.
Rent-setting rules have become more detailed
One of the most important areas for landlords beginning a tenancy in 2026 is rent setting.
Since 1 March 2026, Ireland has a national rent-control system covering private tenancies and student-specific accommodation, with most rents limited to an annual increase of 2% or the rate of inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.
For certain new private tenancies created from 1 March 2026, landlords can reset the rent to market rent in specified circumstances.
These circumstances include a first-time tenancy, a previous tenant leaving by choice, certain breaches by the tenant, or cases where the property no longer met the tenant’s needs.
However, landlords cannot simply reset the rent to market level whenever a tenancy ends. For example, the rules restrict market-rent resets where the previous tenancy ended because the landlord intended to sell the property, move themselves or a family member into it, or change its use.
Landlords must be able to show how the rent was set
The new rules place greater emphasis on evidence.
When setting rent for a new tenancy, landlords must follow the appropriate rent-setting process and provide a rent-setting notice to the tenant and the RTB.
Where a market-rent reset is permitted, the landlord must demonstrate that the rent does not exceed the market rent.
The RTB requires comparable rental information from its Rent Register, with three examples for similar properties. The comparisons should take account of factors including the size, type and character of the property and, where applicable, its BER rating.
Where market-rent setting is not permitted, the landlord must instead calculate the permitted increase under the national rent-control rules and provide the required supporting information.
The RTB says a rent-setting notice is invalid if the required notice is not properly submitted to the RTB.
Keep records from the beginning rather than after a dispute
Many tenancy disputes ultimately come down to evidence.
A landlord who keeps records of the deposit, tenancy agreement, rent payments, property condition, repairs, communications and rent-setting calculations is in a much stronger position if a disagreement later reaches the RTB.
The same principle applies to tenants.
Both sides should retain important documents rather than relying on verbal agreements or informal messages that may be difficult to establish later.
A well-documented tenancy can also make routine issues easier to resolve before they become formal disputes.
Rules around notices are changing again
Landlords should also keep up with changes to the way notices are served.
From 14 September 2026, a landlord serving a notice of termination or rent-review notice must send a copy to the RTB within seven days of serving it on the tenant. This replaces the previous same-day requirement.
The RTB has also advised landlords to continue using its online Service Centre for submitting rent-setting, rent-review and termination notices.
These procedural requirements matter because an incorrectly served notice can create problems for a landlord trying to end a tenancy or change the rent.
A checklist can prevent expensive mistakes
Starting a tenancy is the point at which landlords have the best opportunity to establish good records.
Before the tenant moves in, a landlord should be able to answer yes to the following:
- Have the appropriate tenant checks been completed?
- Is the deposit recorded and receipted?
- Is there a written tenancy agreement?
- Has the tenant received a copy?
- Has an inventory been prepared?
- Are there dated photographs of the property’s condition?
- Have the landlord’s or agent’s contact details been provided?
- Are rent payments and other important records being retained?
- Has the correct rent-setting procedure been followed?
- If market rent is being set, is there evidence from comparable properties?
- Has the required information been provided to both the tenant and the RTB?
These steps will not prevent every disagreement.
They can, however, make it considerably easier to demonstrate what was agreed and whether the landlord followed the applicable rules.
Why the first day of a tenancy matters
For landlords, the start of a tenancy is not simply the point at which rent begins.
It establishes the documentary record that may be relied upon months or years later.
Ireland’s rental rules are also becoming more detailed, particularly following the changes introduced in March 2026. The RTB now requires landlords to follow specific processes when setting and reviewing rents, while new tenancies are subject to different security-of-tenure arrangements.
For that reason, landlords should treat the beginning of every tenancy as a compliance exercise as well as a commercial arrangement.
Good records, a clear agreement and the correct rent-setting procedure can help protect both sides and reduce the likelihood that a straightforward tenancy develops into an avoidable RTB dispute.
This article is intended as a general information guide. Landlords and tenants should consult the RTB for the rules applying to their specific circumstances.
