Guides to rental deposits in Ireland

Plain answers for tenants and landlords, with the law linked

• Renting in Ireland from abroad: how to pay a deposit safely before you arriveThe checks to make when you cannot view, the Garda warning signs, how to pay, where escrow fits, and what to do when you arrive.
• Rental scams in Ireland: how they work, the warning signs, and what to doThe three scams Gardaí describe, the latest figures, the warning signs in an ad and in a conversation, and what to do in the first hours if you have paid.
• International students in Ireland: how to pay an accommodation deposit safelyThe kinds of student housing and what protects you in each, the deposit limit, how to pay from another country, and who to call.
• Letting to a tenant who cannot view in person: a guide for Irish landlordsHow to show a remote tenant the home and the landlord are real, what to ask for and when, the deposit limit, and how to secure the deposit.
• Ireland's deposit protection scheme: why it never started, and what you can do nowThe scheme the law created in 2015, why deposits still sit with landlords, the bills before the Oireachtas, and how to protect a deposit today.
• My landlord won't return my deposit: what to do in IrelandWhat a landlord can lawfully keep, a letter you can send, how to answer deductions, and how to refer the dispute to the RTB in time.
• What can a landlord deduct from a deposit in Ireland? Wear and tear explainedLawful deductions, the RTB examples of wear and tear and damage, why old items cannot be charged as new, and the evidence a landlord needs.
• How to refer a deposit dispute to the RTB: a step-by-step guideMediation or adjudication, how to apply, the evidence to send, what happens at the hearing, appeals, and the time limits to watch.
• Deposit rules in Ireland: how much a landlord can ask for, and what the law saysThe one-month limits on deposits and advance rent, when they apply, the student exception, when a deposit must come back, and what to do if asked for more.
• Move-in inventory checklist (free to print)A room-by-room checklist to record the condition of a rented home on move-in day, with meters, keys and signatures. Print it or save it as a PDF.
• Claiming deposit deductions as a landlord in Ireland: evidence that holds upWhat a landlord can claim, the records to keep at the start and end of a tenancy, how to price a deduction fairly, and what the RTB asks for as evidence.
• Ireland vs the UK: how rental deposit protection differsEngland, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland protect deposits in approved schemes; Ireland does not. Time limits, caps and disputes side by side.