Residential Tenancies Act 2004

Application of Act.

3

3.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act applies to every dwelling, the subject of a tenancy (including a tenancy created before the passing of this Act).

F1[(1A) (a) Subject to subsection (7), this Act also applies to every dwelling (the subject of a tenancy created not earlier than one month after the commencement of paragraph (a) of section 3 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019) situated in a building, or part of a building, used for the sole purpose (subject to subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii)) of providing residential accommodation to students during academic term times under a tenancy

(i) whether or not the building or part of the building concerned is used for any other purpose outside of those times,

(ii) whether or not any such students are permitted to reside there outside of those times, and

(iii) whether or not any person other than a student resides there, provided that the purpose of the persons residing there serves the first-mentioned purpose,

F2[but does not apply to a dwelling] in a building or part of a building used for the first-mentioned purpose where the landlord (other than a landlord who is not an individual) also resides in the building or part of the building concerned.

(b) This subsection is without prejudice to subsection (1) and accordingly this Act shall, by virtue of that subsection

(i) continue to apply to any dwelling to which it applied immediately before the commencement of section 3 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 in the same manner as it applied to such dwelling before such commencement, and

(ii) apply to any dwelling

(I) occupied by a student under a tenancy created on or after such commencement, and

(II) to which this Act would apply had sections 3 and 5 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 not been enacted,

in the same manner as it would apply to a dwelling referred to in subparagraph (i).

(c) The definition of "dwelling" in section 4 shall apply for the purposes of this subsection as if "residential unit (whether or not self-contained)" were substituted for "self-contained residential unit".

(d) In this subsection "student" means a person registered as a student with a relevant provider (within the meaning of the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012).]

(2) Subject to section 4(2), this Act does not apply to any of the following dwellings—

(a) a dwelling that is used wholly or partly for the purpose of carrying on a business, such that the occupier could, after the tenancy has lasted 5 years, make an application under section 13(1)(a) of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980 in respect of it,

(b) a dwelling to which Part II of the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act 1982 applies,

F3[(c) a dwelling that is let by or to a public authority and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, including a dwelling provided by a public authority to an approved housing body other than a dwelling referred to in subsection (2A),]

(d) a dwelling, the occupier of which is entitled to acquire, under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978, the fee simple in respect of it,

(e) a dwelling occupied under a shared ownership lease,

(f) a dwelling let to a person whose entitlement to occupation is for the purpose of a holiday only,

(g) a dwelling within which the landlord also resides,

(h) a dwelling within which the spouse F4[, civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010], parent or child of the landlord resides and no lease or tenancy agreement in writing has been entered into by any person resident in the dwelling,

(i) a dwelling the subject of a tenancy granted under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980 or under Part III of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1931 or which is the subject of an application made under section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980 and the court has yet to make its determination in the matter.

F5[(2A) Where

(a) a public authority provides a dwelling, of which it is the owner, to an approved housing body under a contract or lease between the public authority and the approved housing body pursuant to paragraph (ea) of section 6(2) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, and

(b) subsequent to such provision the dwelling concerned is the subject of a tenancy between the approved housing body concerned and a household within the meaning of section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 that has been assessed under that section of that Act as being qualified for social housing support (within the meaning of that Act),

for the purposes of subsection (1) and without prejudice to paragraph (c) of subsection (2)

(i) this Act applies to that dwelling (including any such dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy created before the coming into operation of this subsection),

(ii) any such tenancy shall not, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as a sub-tenancy arising out of such lease or contract between the public authority and the approved housing body, and

(iii) references in this Act to a sub-tenancy shall not include a dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy between the approved housing body and the household within the meaning of section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.]

F6[(3) Notwithstanding the definition of tenancy in section 5(1), in this section a reference to a tenancy does not include a tenancy F7[(other than a Part 4 tenancy)] the term of which is more than 35 years.]

F5[(4) Without prejudice to subsection (1), for the purposes of the application of this Act to

(a) a dwelling referred to in subsection (2A), and

(b) a dwelling, other than a dwelling referred to in paragraph (a), that

(i) F8[is provided by an approved housing body] to whom assistance is given under subsection (2) of section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, other than the assistance referred to in paragraph (ea) of that subsection, for the purposes of such provision by the approved housing body,

(ii) is the subject of a tenancy (including a tenancy created before the commencement of this subsection), and

(iii) is let by that approved housing body to a household within the meaning of section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 that has been assessed under that section of that Act as being qualified for social housing support (within the meaning of that Act),

subsections (5) and (6) (both inserted by section 3 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015) and sections 3A and 3B (both inserted by section 4 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015) shall apply to a dwelling referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(5) For the purposes of the application of this Act (and regulations made under it) to a dwelling referred to in subsection (4)(a) (inserted by section 3 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015)

(a) the approved housing body concerned shall be deemed to be a landlord of such dwelling,

(b) references in this Act (or regulations made under it) to a landlord, in so far as the references concern a dwelling, referred to in subsection (4)(a), shall be construed accordingly, and

(c) the person who is the tenant of the dwelling shall be construed in accordance with subsection (6).

(6) For the purposes of the application of this Act (and regulations made under it) to a dwelling referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (4) (inserted by section 3 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015)

(a) where the household comprises one person, that person shall be deemed to be a tenant of such dwelling,

(b) where the household comprises 2 or more persons, whichever of those persons who has been granted occupation of the dwelling pursuant to the tenancy agreement shall be deemed to be the tenants of such dwelling, and

(c) references in this Act to a tenant and multiple tenants, in so far as the references concern a dwelling, referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4), the subject of a tenancy, shall be construed accordingly.]

F1[(7) The following provisions of this Act shall not apply to a tenancy of a dwelling referred to in subsection (1A):

(a) paragraphs (k) and (n) of section 16, subsections (2) and (3) of section 78 and clause (II) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section 135;

(b) F9[sections 60, 70,] 71, 72, 73, 81, 185, 186 and 195;

(c) Part 4; and

(d) Schedule 1.]

Annotations

Amendments:

F1

Inserted (15.07.2019) by Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 (14/2019), s. 3(a), (b), S.I. No. 354 of 2019.

F2

Substituted (15.07.2019) by Local Government Rates and other Matters Act 2019 (24/2019), s. 25(1)(a), S.I. No. 355 of 2019.

F3

Substituted (7.04.2016) by Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 (42/2015), s. 3(1), S.I. No. 151 of 2016.

F4

Inserted (1.01.2011) by Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (24/2010), s. 40(a), S.I. No. 648 of 2010.

F5

Inserted (7.04.2016) by Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 (42/2015), s. 3(2), (3), S.I. No. 151 of 2016.

F6

Inserted (15.07.2009) by Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (22/2009), s. 100(2)(b), commenced on enactment.

F7

Inserted (11.06.2022) by Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2021 (39/2021), s. 6(1)(a), commenced as per subs. (2) and s. 5(5), subject to transitional provisions for existing tenancies in s. 5(2)-(4).

F8

Substituted (17.01.2017) by Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 (17/2016), s. 31, S.I. No. 7 of 2017.

F9

Substituted (9.07.2021) by Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021 (17/2021), s. 3, commenced on enactment.

Modifications (not altering text):

C6

Prospective affecting provision: application of section restricted by Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (22/2009), s. 25(3), not commenced as of date of revision.

Chapter 4 tenancy agreement.

25.— ...

(3) A dwelling to which this Chapter applies which is the subject of a Chapter 4 tenancy agreement shall not be construed as a dwelling let by or to a public authority for the purposes of section 3(2)(c) of the Act of 2004.

...

C7

Term “approved housing body” construed (1.01.2022) by Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act 2019 (47/2019), s. 68, S.I. No. 728 of 2021, art. 2(f).

Construction of certain references in other Acts or instruments made under Acts

68. References in—

(a) any Act of the Oireachtas, other than this Act, passed before the coming into operation of this section,

...

to—

(i) an approved housing body,

(ii) a housing body approved under section 6 of the Act of 1992,

(iii) an approved body or a body approved, under, or for the purposes of, section 6 of the Act of 1992, or

(iv) to a body approved of or standing approved of, under, or for the purposes of, section 6 of the Act of 1992,

as the case may be (howsoever described), shall, on and after the coming into operation of this section, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as references to an approved housing body (within the meaning of this Act), save where other provision is made as respects the construction of the references in paragraphs (i) to (iv), as the case may be, by any Act of the Oireachtas (other than this Act) passed before that coming into operation.

C8

Application of Act extended to licences and licence agreements (15.07.2019) by Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 (14/2019), s. 37, S.I. No. 354 of 2019, as substituted (15.07.2019) by Local Government Rates and other Matters Act 2019 (24/2019), s. 26(d), S.I. No. 355 of 2019.

Application of Act of 2004 to certain licences

[37. (1) The Act of 2004 shall apply to licences to which this section applies and licence agreements as it applies to tenancies of dwellings referred to in subsection (1A) of section 3 of that Act and tenancy agreements relating to such tenancies, subject to the following, and any other necessary, modifications:

(a) references to tenancy shall be construed as references to licence to which this section applies;

(b) references to tenancy agreement shall be construed as references to licensing agreement;

(c) references to landlord shall be construed as references to licensor;

(d) references to tenant (other than a tenant to whom the definition of "multiple tenants" in subsection (1) of section 48 applies) shall be construed as references to licensee;

(e) references to dwelling shall be construed as references to a residential unit (whether or not self-contained) situated in student accommodation;

(f) references to rent shall be construed as references to payments or charges (howsoever described) payable under a licence agreement to the licensor by any person (whether or not the licensee) in consideration of the licence concerned; and

(g) the deletion, in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 12, of the words "and exclusive".

(2) This section does not apply to a licence in respect of student accommodation in which the licensor (other than a licensor who is not an individual) resides, and references in this section to licence to which this section applies shall be construed accordingly.

(3) In this section—

"licence" means a licence—

(a) given by the owner (in this section referred to as the "licensor") of student accommodation to a student (in this section referred to as the "licensee"), and

(b) created not earlier than one month after the commencement of this section, permitting the licensee to enter and reside in a residential unit (whether or not self-contained) within that student accommodation in consideration of the making by any person (whether or not the licensee) of a payment or payments to the licensor;

"licence agreement" means an agreement (whether or not in writing) between the owner of student accommodation and a student giving a licence to which this section applies to the student;

"owner" means, in relation to student accommodation, any person (other than a mortgagee not in possession) who has an estate or interest in that accommodation;

"student" means a person registered as a student with a relevant provider (within the meaning of the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 );

"student accommodation" means a building, or part of a building, used for the sole purpose (subject to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c)) of providing residential accommodation to students during academic term times—

(a) whether or not the building or part of the building concerned is used for any other purpose outside of those times,

(b) whether or not any such students are permitted to reside there outside of those times, and

(c) whether or not any person other than a student resides there, provided that the purpose of the said person’s residing there serves the first-mentioned purpose.]

C9

Application of section restricted (15.09.2014) by Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 (21/2004), s. 36, S.I. No. 404 of 2014.

Restriction on application of Residential Tenancies Act 2004

36. Except in the case of a dwelling to which section 47 relates, a dwelling in respect of which housing assistance is provided under this Part shall not be construed as a dwelling let by or to a public authority for the purposes of section 3 (2)(c) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 .

Editorial Notes:

E3

Previous affecting provision: subs. (2)(c)(ii) amended (15.07.2009) by Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (22/2009), s. 100(2)(a), commenced on enactment; substituted as per F-note above.