RTB registration costs €40 a year per tenancy. It is due within one month of the tenancy starting and again every year on the anniversary, and every month late adds €10. Since 14 September 2026 the Residential Tenancies Board can also send a €100 fixed payment notice without going to court. Here is the whole of it for 2026: who registers, the fees, the dates, the RT number, and what the RTB does when a tenancy is missing.
Who has to register
Every private landlord, Approved Housing Body, student specific accommodation provider and cost rental landlord, for each tenancy separately (RTB, who should register). The exemptions are narrow: business lettings, holiday lets, a room in the owner’s own home, a family member (spouse, parent or child) housed without a written tenancy agreement, local authority social housing, hosting under the Accommodation Recognition Payment scheme, and some garden units. A sub-tenancy is registered by the head-tenant, on the paper RTB1 form.
The garden unit rule is new. A unit placed on or after 27 July 2026 under the planning exemption, in the back garden of a house that is the owner’s main home, with the planning authority told at least 14 days before work began, is outside the RTB’s remit and is not registered. A unit that was already there before 27 July 2026, or went up without the exemption, is registered like any other tenancy (RTB, garden housing units).
The fee
| Tenancy | Yearly fee | Late fee | Composite fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private, student specific, cost rental | €40 | €10 per month or part of a month | €170 |
| Approved Housing Body | €20 | €5 per month or part of a month | €85 |
The composite fee covers a batch of tenancies in the same building registered at the same time, on time; the RTB’s fee page heads it “10 or more properties”. A second or later registration of the same home within 12 months costs nothing, if it is made within a month of the new tenancy starting. Updating a registration (a rent change, a tenant leaving while another stays) is free. Late fees were paused from 12 November 2022 to 1 March 2024 and are not charged for that period. The fee is an allowable expense against rental income.
The deadlines
- New tenancy: within one month of the start date. The RTB’s example: a tenancy starting 15 May 2025 is registered by 14 June 2025.
- Every year after: on the anniversary of the start date, so by 14 June 2026 in that example, and every 14 June while it lasts. The RTB accepts the annual registration up to one calendar month after the due date before late fees start. It sends reminders 30 days before, on the due date, and 5 days before the deadline.
- Rent change: update the registration within one month of the new rent taking effect. A rent review needs its own notice first; see our Notice of Rent Review guide.
- Tenants change: update if at least one original tenant stays. If every original tenant leaves, the registration ends and the new tenancy is registered from scratch.
How to register
Online, through an RTB registration account, in eight steps (RTB, how to register). Have these ready: your PPS number and date of birth (or company name and CRO number); the Eircode, property type, bedrooms, floor area and BER rating; the start date, rent, deposit and number of occupants; which bills the tenant pays; and the name, date of birth and contact details of every tenant aged 18 or over. The Eircode matters: the address cannot be changed once registered. Payment is by card, PayPal or SEPA transfer (under €4,000). The RTB1 paper form goes to [email protected] or by post, paid by cheque, bank draft or postal order.
“Registration paid” in your account does not yet mean registered. The RTB checks the application, then sends the landlord and each named tenant a confirmation letter with the RT number, in the format RT-XXXX-XXXXXXXX. Tenants usually get theirs by post. That is the number a tenant puts on a Rent Tax Credit claim.
What happens if you do not register
The RTB now has three routes (RTB, consequences of not registering):
- Fixed payment notice, €100. A first letter gives 28 days to register or show there is no breach, a second gives a final 14 days, then the notice gives 28 days to pay and fix it. Pay and register, and there is no prosecution. Ignore it and the case goes to court. Failing to update a registration is a separate €100 notice.
- Prosecution. A criminal conviction, a Class A fine of up to €5,000, up to 12 months in prison, €1,000 for each day the tenancy stays unregistered, and the RTB’s legal costs.
- Investigation. A sanction of up to €15,000 plus up to €15,000 in costs, for each unregistered tenancy.
There is a practical cost too. A landlord can only refer a dispute to the RTB if the tenancy is registered, while the tenant can use the dispute service either way. If a Registration Enforcement Notice arrives, register at once (late fees included) and email the reference number and the new RT number to [email protected].
Checking a registration
The RTB’s public register shows whether an address has a current registered tenancy, and online registrations appear within 48 hours. Tenants can look up their own home with our registration check. It searches the same register by Eircode, with the address as an extra for apartments.