Ending a tenancy in Ireland isn't as simple as either side deciding to move on — both landlords and tenants must give a minimum period of written notice, and how much notice depends on how long the tenancy has lasted. Since the Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2025 reforms took effect on 1 March 2026, these notice periods apply nationwide, with no distinction based on tenancy type that existed under some of the older rules.
Landlord notice periods
A landlord ending a tenancy must give notice based on how long the tenant has lived there:
| Tenancy length | Notice required |
|---|---|
| Less than 6 months | 90 days |
| 6 months to 1 year | 152 days |
| 1 year to 7 years | 180 days |
| 7 years to 8 years | 196 days |
| More than 8 years | 224 days |
These are substantially longer than tenant notice periods at every tenancy length, reflecting that losing a home is more disruptive than a landlord losing a tenant.
Tenant notice periods
A tenant ending a tenancy gives notice on a shorter scale:
| Tenancy length | Notice required |
|---|---|
| Less than 6 months | 28 days |
| 6 months to 1 year | 35 days |
| 1 year to 2 years | 42 days |
| 2 years to 4 years | 56 days |
| 4 years to 8 years | 84 days |
| 8 years or longer | 112 days |
Shorter notice in specific circumstances
Both sides can give much shorter notice than the standard bands above, but only in defined situations:
- Rent arrears or another breach of the tenancy (landlord-initiated): a landlord must first send a rent arrears warning notice giving the tenant 28 days to pay (and copy it to the RTB). Only if the arrears remain unpaid after that can the landlord serve a Notice of Termination with a further 28 days' notice.
- Serious anti-social behaviour or risk to the structure of the property (landlord-initiated): notice can be as short as 7 days in serious cases.
- Landlord breach (tenant-initiated): a tenant can give 28 days' notice after first giving the landlord reasonable time to fix the breach.
- Serious risk to life, injury, or the structure of the property (tenant-initiated): as short as 7 days.
- Student-specific accommodation (tenant-initiated): a fixed 28-day notice period applies regardless of tenancy length.
These shorter periods only apply where the underlying circumstances genuinely meet the legal test — a landlord can't simply assert "anti-social behaviour" to shortcut the standard notice period without following the required process, and disputes over whether a shorter notice was validly used are decided by the RTB.
Notice must be in writing, and sent to the RTB
A valid Notice of Termination must be in writing (a letter or email is fine), signed, dated, and state the exact date the tenancy will end. Landlords must also send a copy of the notice to the RTB on the same day they send it to the tenant — this is a requirement introduced to give the RTB oversight of terminations, not an optional formality.
Getting the notice period wrong — even by a few days — can make the entire notice invalid, which is the most common reason terminations are successfully disputed at the RTB.
Working out your own notice period
The exact figure depends on the precise tenancy start date and the date notice is given, since the bands above are based on whole months of tenancy length. Our Notice Period calculator works this out for either party, including the special-case overrides, and shows the earliest valid end date based on your dates.
Frequently asked questions
Can a tenancy be ended without giving a reason? No — landlords must have a valid legal ground to end a tenancy (such as the property being sold, needed for the landlord's family, or the tenant's breach), and must state that ground in the Notice of Termination. This calculator only addresses the length of notice required, not whether a valid ground exists.
Does the notice period start from when it's posted or when it's received? Generally from when it's validly served — for written notice, this is usually treated as the date of delivery (by hand, registered post, or otherwise), not the date it was written. If timing is contested, the RTB's specific service rules apply.
What happens if notice is given but the tenant doesn't leave? The landlord can apply to the RTB for a determination, and ultimately for an order enforceable through the courts — a landlord can't lawfully remove a tenant or their belongings themselves ("self-help eviction" is illegal in Ireland regardless of how much notice was given).