If you own land or a building that you lease to a tenant, you assume the role of a landlord. Your primary rights and duties as a landlord derive from landlord and tenant law, as well as from any lease or tenancy agreement, whether written or verbal, between you and your tenant.
Most of a landlord’s rights and responsibilities are outlined in residential tenancies legislation.
Note: a comprehensive version of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 on the Law Reform Commission’s website, which includes all the latest amendments can be found here – updated to 30 November 2023.
Leases or other tenancy agreements cannot override the rights and responsibilities of landlords or tenants as established by legislation. Nonetheless, you and your tenant can mutually agree on matters not addressed by legislation in a lease or tenancy agreement, such as utility bill payments.
It’s important to note that if you’re renting out a room in your home, the tenancy is not governed by residential tenancies legislation (although leasing a self-contained apartment within your home falls under its purview).
Approved Housing Bodies (AHB’s)
AHB’s are covered by the residential tenancies legislation with similar rights and responsibilities shared by private landlords. However, there are some variations on rent reviews, minimum standards and requests to end a tenancy.
Student Accommodation
Tenants in student-specific housing have protection in residential tenancy legislation, receiving the same rights as private tenants. There are some caveats to this, such as a landlord’s ability to access communal areas without permission, and student tenure doesn’t typically have the same security of tenure.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Landlord
In 2024, there is an increasingly complex set of prerequisites and obligations that landlords are duty-bound to observe prior to leasing accommodation.
These include:
- Registration each year with the RTB with notification of tenancy changes
- Meeting legal housing standards, e.g. electrical and/or gas supplies safe and operational, adequate ventilation, natural or artificial lighting throughout, etc.
- Maintain the structural integrity of the building
- Provide BER (Building Energy Rating) for the property
- Carry out repairs
- Insure the property
- Offer full disclosure to tenant about authorised third parties (e.g. property management companies such as M&C who act on a landlord’s behalf)
- Give 90 days’ notice of rent review
- Provide a valid written notice of termination around tenancy agreements
Our Residential Letting Services
Often, the information can be overwhelming if not, downright conflicting for landlords. Staying up to date with new legislation, while covering the basics – managing rental payments and screening tenants – can be a minefield.
At M&C, we offer assurances and expert support to help you navigate the terrain. Letting property is encoded in our DNA, ever since we started the business in 2009. Currently, we rent and manage around 1,000 individual properties throughout the country. There are very few things we haven’t seen or experienced in the last two decades and our dedicated team of experts offer a range of supports including:
- Rental valuations
- Marketing
- Viewings/Reference Checks
- RTB Registration
- Admin (tenant check-in, utility transfers, arrangement for rent payments, etc)
Learn more about the team, view our full list of residential letting and management services and get in touch today by visiting our Lettings page.
