Renting in Ireland from abroad: how to pay a deposit safely before you arrive

By the DepositSafe team · Updated 13 October 2026 · 7 minute read

The short answer

The safest course is the one An Garda Síochána gives: do not pay anything for a home you have not been able to view. If you have to secure a place before you arrive, check that the home and the landlord are real, get a written tenancy agreement first, pay only by a method that is traceable and can be refunded, and do not let the money reach the landlord until you are inside with keys that work.

Why paying before you arrive is risky

The most common accommodation fraud in Ireland is a deposit or holding fee paid for a home that does not exist, or that exists but is not the advertiser's to let. Gardaí recorded 230 reports and more than €400,000 lost in the first seven months of 2026, before the autumn peak, and 399 reports in the whole of 2025. Reports rise every year from August to October, when students return to college.

People moving from abroad are the easiest target, because they cannot call to the door. Gardaí have also warned that fake listings appear on well-known property websites, so the site an ad sits on proves nothing about the ad. Our guide to rental scams in Ireland describes how each kind works.

First, try not to pay before a viewing

• Book somewhere short-term for your first weeks (a hostel, a hotel, college short-stay rooms) and view homes in person once you are in Ireland.
• Ask someone you trust to view for you: a friend, a relative, a colleague, or your employer's relocation contact.
• If you are a student, ask your college accommodation office or students' union which providers and listing services they know. See our guide for international students.
• Use a recognised letting agent where you can. Letting agents in Ireland must be licensed by the Property Services Regulatory Authority, which publishes a register you can check.

If you cannot view: checks to make before you pay

None of these is proof on its own. Together they make a fake much harder to keep up.

• Find the address yourself. Ask for the full address and Eircode, then look at it on a map and in street-level photos. The building should match the ad.
• Search the photos. A reverse image search shows whether the same pictures were used for another home or another city.
• Ask for a live video viewing. The person should walk through the home on a call, open the front door from the street, and show you something you ask for on the spot. Threshold advises against relying on photos or virtual tours alone, so treat this as one check among several.
• Check the RTB register. The Residential Tenancies Board lets you search by address or Eircode for a registered tenancy. The register does not name the landlord, and a home that has not been let before, or a room in the landlord's own home, will not appear, so a missing result is a question to ask, not a verdict.
• Compare the rent. The RTB publishes average rents by area. A rent far below them is the first warning sign on the Garda list.
• Know who you are dealing with. Ask for the landlord's or agent's full name, a phone number and photo ID, and check that the name matches the tenancy agreement and the account you are asked to pay.
• Get the tenancy agreement in writing before you pay, with the rent, the deposit, the start date and the address.

How much you can be asked for

For a tenancy, a landlord can ask for a deposit of no more than one month's rent and an advance payment of no more than one month's rent. A request for more than two months' rent upfront is against the law as well as a warning sign. Our guide to deposit rules in Ireland has the detail and the student exception. If you have rented in the UK, note that Ireland has no deposit protection scheme of that kind: see Ireland vs the UK.

How to pay

• Never pay in cash, cryptocurrency or by money transfer service. Gardaí also warn against transfers through payment apps and random PayPal addresses.
• Pay in a way that is traceable and can be refunded. Gardaí recommend a credit card where possible.
• Get a receipt that says what the payment is: deposit or advance rent, for which address.
• Do not be hurried. Pressure to pay today "before someone else takes it" is on the Garda list of warning signs.

Where an escrow service fits

An escrow service holds the deposit between the two sides, so the landlord can see it has been paid but cannot take it before you arrive. This is what DepositSafe does: you pay the deposit by card, the landlord verifies their identity with a government ID before they can receive it, and it is released to them only after you confirm that you have moved in. If the home is not there or not as agreed, you report a problem instead of confirming, and the deposit stays held while our team reviews it with both sides. The tenant pays a service fee of 4% of the deposit, shown before payment; the landlord pays nothing.

Escrow does not replace the checks above. Identity verification shows who the landlord is; it does not show that they own the home. And once you confirm the move-in, the deposit is released, so confirm only when you are inside.

If your landlord has not let to someone abroad before, send them our guide to letting to a tenant who cannot view.

Warning signs from An Garda Síochána

When you arrive

• Check that the keys open the front door and your own door, and that nobody else lives there.
• Record the condition of the home on the first day, with dated photos. Our move-in inventory checklist is free to print.
• Only then confirm the move-in, if your deposit is held in escrow.

If you have already paid and something is wrong

• Call your bank or card provider at once and ask whether the payment can be recalled or disputed. Speed matters.
• Report it to An Garda Síochána, at any Garda station, with the ad, the messages and the payment record.
• Get advice from Threshold, the housing charity, on freephone 1800 454 454 or at threshold.ie.
• Report the ad to the website where you found it.

Common questions

Is it safe to pay a rental deposit before arriving in Ireland?

It carries real risk, and An Garda Síochána advises against paying for a home you have not viewed. If you have to, check the address, the landlord's identity and the RTB register, get the tenancy agreement in writing first, and pay by a traceable method that can be refunded, such as a credit card.

How much can a landlord in Ireland ask for upfront?

For a tenancy, no more than one month's rent as a deposit and no more than one month's rent in advance. A request for more than two months' rent upfront is against the law.

How can I check that a rental in Ireland is real when I cannot view it?

Find the address and Eircode on a map, run a reverse image search on the photos, ask for a live video viewing that starts in the street, search the RTB register by address, and compare the rent with the RTB's averages for the area. No single check is proof; together they make a fake hard to keep up.

What does a deposit escrow service do?

It holds the deposit between the tenant and the landlord. With DepositSafe the tenant pays by card, the landlord verifies their identity, and the deposit is released only after the tenant confirms the move-in. The tenant pays a service fee of 4% of the deposit.

Sources

• An Garda Síochána: student accommodation fraud warning (August 2023)
• The Irish Times: students warned of spike in accommodation scams (25 August 2026)
• Irish Examiner: students warned over fake ads (25 August 2026)
• Residential Tenancies Board: tenancy registration check
• Threshold: advice on rental accommodation for students (2024)
• Property Services Regulatory Authority