Ireland · Security deposits

Getting your rental deposit back in Ireland

Ireland has no deposit protection scheme: your landlord holds the money until the tenancy ends. If there's a disagreement, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) decides it, and it decides on evidence.

Maximum deposit

One month's rent.

When it's returned

As soon as possible after the tenancy ends. The landlord may take time to inspect, but can only keep money for a legal reason.

What can be deducted

Rent arrears, unpaid bills you were responsible for, damage beyond normal wear and tear, and costs from not giving the correct notice.

If you disagree

RTB mediation (free) or adjudication (€30). Both lead to a binding outcome.

Wear and tear is not your cost

The RTB's own examples of normal wear and tear include worn flooring, taps and washers wearing out, and a cooker element wearing out from normal use. Burn marks, heavy carpet stains, holes in walls and doors, missing fixtures and broken glass count as damage. How much wear is normal depends on how long you lived there and how many people lived there.

A landlord also can't charge the full price of a new item to replace an old one: if a nine-year-old sofa is damaged, they can't claim the cost of a brand-new sofa.

What to do if your deposit isn't returned

1. Ask in writing

Email your landlord (or the agent holding the deposit) with the date you moved out and ask for the deposit, or for a written list of deductions with evidence.

2. Get free advice

Threshold, the national housing charity, gives free advice to tenants. Deposit retention is one of the most common problems it deals with.

3. Apply to the RTB

Open a dispute with the Residential Tenancies Board. Start with free mediation; if that fails, an adjudicator decides based on the evidence both sides submit.

Evidence decides the outcome

The RTB recommends photographic evidence of the property's condition, preferably from both the start and the end of the tenancy, and an inventory signed by both sides. Without a deposit scheme to lean on, your own dated photos are the strongest thing you have.

• Photograph every room on the day you get the keys, before you unpack.
• Ask for an inventory, check it, and note anything it misses.
• At move-out, clean, then photograph the same views before returning the keys.

Sources: RTB: Security deposits · RTB: Wear and tear · RTB: Disputes process · Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended). General information, not legal advice.