The RTB Can Now Fine You Directly: What Changed on 14 September 2026

Until this month, an RTB breach meant a dispute, an adjudication and a determination order. From 14 September 2026, six of them carry a fine the RTB can issue directly — no hearing, no dispute, no tenant needed to raise it.

The amounts are not enormous. The change in how they arrive is what matters: these are administrative penalties for paperwork failures, and paperwork failures are the easiest thing in the world for a busy landlord to let slide.

The six breaches

A fixed payment notice can now be issued for:

1. Failing to register a tenancy with the RTB
2. Failing to update tenancy details when they change
3. Failing to provide the required rent-setting information at the start of a tenancy
4. Setting a rent above the legal limit
5. Failing to notify the RTB that an exemption applies
6. Failing to serve a rent review notice correctly

The penalty is €200 for the rent-related breaches and €100 for the others.

Four of the six are things that happen at the very start of a tenancy, or once a year at review — the two moments a landlord is least likely to be thinking about RTB procedure.

Which ones catch people out

Failing to update tenancy details

Most landlords know they must register. Fewer realise the obligation continues. A rent change, a tenant moving out of a shared tenancy, a change of agent — each of these needs the RTB record updated, and the update is a separate act from the original registration.

Rent-setting information at the start

At the beginning of a tenancy you must give the tenant specified information about how the rent was set. Since 1 March 2026 that includes, where market rent is being set, a statement identifying three comparable properties from the RTB Rent Register — matched on bedrooms, floor area and BER rating, in the same electoral area. Handing over a lease without that statement is now a chargeable breach in its own right.

Serving the rent review notice incorrectly

A rent review in a Rent Pressure Zone requires the RTB’s own Notice of Rent Review form, with at least 90 days’ notice, and no more often than every twelve months. The form’s wording cannot be altered. A review served on your own letterhead, or with 60 days’ notice because the tenant said they did not mind, is now a €200 matter as well as an invalid review.

Setting rent above the limit

In an RPZ — which is all of Dublin — the annual increase is capped at the lower of inflation or 2%. Getting the arithmetic wrong is a breach even where nobody intended to overcharge.

What else changed on 14 September

• Notices of termination. A copy must reach the RTB within seven days of service. The RTB is also now recommending email rather than post for serving the tenant, so that receipt is demonstrable.
• Tribunal notice. Notice of a tribunal hearing drops from 21 calendar days to 10 working days.
• Mediation appeals. The appeal period is standardised at 10 working days for both parties.

The direction of travel is faster process and less tolerance for administrative slippage.

What to do this week

1. Check every tenancy you hold is registered and that the registered details match reality — rent, tenants, agent, contact address.
2. Find the last rent review notice you served. Was it the RTB form? Was it 90 days? Was it within the cap?
3. For any tenancy that began since 1 March, confirm the rent-setting information was given to the tenant and that you kept a copy.
4. Diary your next review date now, 90 days ahead of when you want the new rent to start.

Common questions

Can I appeal a fixed payment notice?

A fixed payment notice sets out on its face what it relates to, what you owe and by when, and what your options are if you disagree. Read it rather than filing it: the response window is short, and doing nothing is not neutral. If you think a notice has been issued in error, take advice before either paying it or ignoring it.

Does using a letting agent protect me?

The legal obligations remain the landlord’s. What an agent changes is whether the registrations, updates, notices and forms actually get done, on time and on the right paperwork.

Do these apply to tenancies that started years ago?

The obligations to register, to keep details current and to serve rent reviews correctly apply to live tenancies regardless of when they began. The rent-setting information requirements attach to tenancies created since the March 2026 changes.

Not certain your tenancies are in order?

We manage over 100 properties across Dublin, and the registrations, updates and rent reviews are part of the service. A free property visit will tell you where you stand. Book a free property visit.

General information for Dublin landlords, current at the date above. Not legal advice — check your own position with the RTB or a solicitor.