Non-Resident Landlords

A significant share of the properties we manage belong to owners who do not live in Ireland. Managing from abroad is perfectly workable — but non-resident landlords carry obligations that an Irish-resident landlord does not, and the tax treatment is the part that catches people out.

How tax works on rent when you live abroad

Rental income from an Irish property is taxable in Ireland regardless of where you live. Where a landlord is non-resident, the system requires tax to be accounted for at source unless a collection agent is appointed to handle it. Which route applies to you depends on your circumstances and on whether a collection agent is in place.

This is the single most common thing overseas owners get wrong, and it is worth an hour with an accountant who handles non-resident landlords rather than a guess. We can point you at one.

What a collection agent does

A collection agent is a person or company in Ireland who receives the rent on your behalf and takes on responsibility for accounting for the tax due on it. It is a formal role with real obligations, and it is not the same thing as a managing agent — though the two are often the same organisation.

What we handle on the ground

• Viewings attended and applicants vetted without you flying in
• Maintenance authorised up to a limit you set, so a boiler does not wait for a reply across five time zones
• Quarterly inspections, written up with photographs
• Rent collected, arrears chased, one statement a month
• RTB registration and rent reviews calculated and served correctly
• Records kept in the shape your accountant needs at year end

The practical things that matter more than they sound

A named contact. Not a queue. Someone who has stood in your property and can tell you whether the damp patch is condensation or something worse.

Decisions made without you. Within an agreed limit. The point of managing from abroad is not being asked to approve every €80 repair.

Somebody who answers the phone in your working day. We are on Irish time, but a scheduled call at your convenience is not difficult to arrange.

Selling from abroad

If you decide to sell rather than let, note that your ability to end a tenancy in order to sell now depends on how many tenancies you hold. Four or more, or holding through a company, and that ground is no longer available — the property sells with the tenant in place.

Getting started

We can do the whole thing without you being in the country: a video walkthrough of the property, a written appraisal, and the paperwork by email. If you are over for a visit, we will meet you at the property instead.

Nothing here is tax advice. Non-resident landlord tax has real consequences for getting it wrong, and your own circumstances decide what applies — take advice from an accountant.