7 Dodgy Lease Clauses Dublin Landlords Slip In (And What You Can Refuse to Sign)

Most people read a lease the way they read a terms-and-conditions page,they scroll to the bottom, hold their breath, and sign. In Dublin's rental market that instinct is understandable because you're terrified of losing the apartment, but it can cost you seriously. This guide walks through seven clauses that actually appear in Dublin leases right now, explains why each one is either illegal or unenforceable, and tells you what the law actually says so you know exactly where you stand.

Table of Contents

• Why Leases Have Illegal Clauses in Them
• Clause 1: "The Deposit Is Non-Refundable"
• Clause 2: "No Overnight Guests Without Prior Permission"
• Clause 3: "The Landlord May Enter the Property at Any Time"
• Clause 4: "The Tenant Is Responsible for All Repairs"
• Clause 5: "Rent Will Be Reviewed Every Six Months"
• Clause 6: "Tenant Must Give 60 Days Notice to Vacate"
• Clause 7: "The Property Must Be Professionally Cleaned on Departure"
• What to Do If Your Lease Has One of These
• The Faster Way to Check Any Lease
• FAQ

Why Leases Have Illegal Clauses in Them

Here's the thing about Irish tenancy law that a lot of landlords either don't know or are hoping you don't know: under the Residential Tenancies Act, no lease can override your statutory rights. Full stop. A landlord can write whatever they like into a tenancy agreement, but if it conflicts with the Act, the clause is void and the law wins. The lease sitting in front of you might be a professional-looking six-page document printed on nice paper, and it can still contain clauses that have no legal force whatsoever.

Some landlords include these clauses out of ignorance,they're using a template from years ago that nobody has updated. Others include them deliberately, banking on the fact that most tenants will not push back. Either way, the effect is the same: people sign leases with illegal terms and then behave as if those terms are binding, which means they end up paying money they don't owe, tolerating intrusions they don't have to accept, and walking away from deposits that should have come back to them.

Knowing which clauses are worth challenging is genuinely useful, so here are the seven you are most likely to encounter.

Clause 1: "The Deposit Is Non-Refundable"

What the lease says: Some variation of "the deposit is non-refundable" or "the deposit is retained as a booking fee and will not be returned under any circumstances."

Why it's wrong: This is flatly illegal. Under Irish law, deposits must be returned at the end of a tenancy minus any legitimate deductions,which means deductions for damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent, or unpaid utility bills the tenant was responsible for. A landlord cannot simply declare a deposit non-refundable and keep it. The RTB deposit rules are clear: the deposit belongs to the tenant until there is a specific, documented reason to withhold part or all of it.

What the law actually says: Deposits are capped at one month's rent. If your landlord is holding more than that, they are already in breach. When the tenancy ends, they must return the deposit promptly unless they can demonstrate a legitimate deduction, and "I've decided it's non-refundable" is not a legitimate deduction.

What to do: Strike the clause and tell the landlord it conflicts with the Residential Tenancies Act. If they refuse, you have two options: walk away, or sign and immediately document the clause's existence so you have evidence for an RTB dispute later. If they withhold your deposit at the end of the tenancy, the RTB's dispute resolution service is specifically designed for exactly this situation.

Clause 2: "No Overnight Guests Without Prior Permission"

What the lease says: Usually something like "the tenant may not have overnight guests without the written consent of the landlord" or "no person other than the named tenant may stay at the property."

Why it's wrong: Your right to quiet enjoyment of your rented home is one of the most fundamental rights in Irish tenancy law, and it means the property is your home for the duration of the tenancy,not a hotel room where the owner gets to approve your visitors. A landlord cannot legally dictate who stays overnight with you, and a clause purporting to give them that control is unenforceable.

What the law actually says: The Residential Tenancies Act gives tenants the right to peaceful and exclusive occupation of the property. That exclusivity is yours. A landlord can prohibit subletting,meaning you cannot charge someone else rent to live there,but that is a completely different thing from having your partner stay over or a friend sleeping on your sofa for a week.

What to do: You do not have to ask permission for guests, and you do not have to comply with a clause requiring you to do so. If a landlord tries to enforce it, point them toward the Act. The distinction worth understanding: subletting (renting out a room or the whole property to a third party) can be prohibited and that is legitimate. Guests and visitors are a different matter entirely.

Clause 3: "The Landlord May Enter the Property at Any Time"

What the lease says: "The landlord reserves the right to enter the property at any time for inspection or repair purposes" or similar.

Why it's wrong: Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord must give a minimum of 24 hours' notice before entering the property except in a genuine emergency. An "emergency" means a situation posing an immediate risk of damage to the property or danger to the occupants, not a landlord who wants to check whether you've cleaned the bathroom.

What the law actually says: Your home is your home. The landlord owns the building, but during the tenancy you have the right to exclusive occupation of it. They need your permission to enter, and that permission comes with a minimum 24-hour notice requirement baked into statute. A lease clause attempting to waive that requirement is void.

What to do: You are within your rights to refuse entry if notice has not been given. Remain polite about it,tell the landlord you need 24 hours' notice as required by law and suggest a time that works. If they continue to show up unannounced, document each instance with dates and times. Repeated unauthorised entry can constitute a breach of your right to quiet enjoyment and is grounds for an RTB complaint.

Clause 4: "The Tenant Is Responsible for All Repairs"

What the lease says: "The tenant shall be responsible for maintaining the property in good repair throughout the tenancy and shall carry out all necessary repairs at their own cost."

Why it's wrong: Irish law draws a clear line between what landlords must fix and what tenants are responsible for. Structural elements of the property, the roof, the walls, the windows, the heating system, the plumbing, and the major appliances that came with the let,these are the landlord's responsibility. A blanket clause making the tenant liable for "all repairs" conflicts directly with the landlord's statutory obligations and is partially void.

What the law actually says: Landlords are legally required to maintain the structure of the property in good repair, ensure the property meets minimum standards, keep all appliances and furnishings provided as part of the tenancy in good working order, and carry out repairs in a reasonable timeframe. Tenants are responsible for day-to-day maintenance,keeping the place clean, replacing lightbulbs, reporting problems promptly,but they are not responsible for anything structural or mechanical.

What to do: The clause is unenforceable to the extent it conflicts with the Act, meaning you cannot be legally required to pay for a broken boiler or a leaking roof even if the lease says otherwise. That said, it is worth getting any "all repairs" language narrowed in writing before you sign, so there is no ambiguity if a dispute arises. Propose replacing it with language that reflects the actual legal position.

Clause 5: "Rent Will Be Reviewed Every Six Months"

What the lease says: "The landlord reserves the right to review the rent every six months in line with current market rates."

Why it's wrong: If your property is in a Rent Pressure Zone,and virtually all of Dublin is,rent can only be reviewed once every 12 months, and any increase is capped at 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. A clause promising six-monthly reviews directly contradicts RPZ legislation and is therefore void for properties in those zones.

What the law actually says: For tenancies starting from March 2026 in Dublin, rent reviews happen at most once per year, the notice of review must be sent to both the tenant and the RTB on the same day, and the increase cannot exceed the legal cap. There is no opt-out from RPZ rules,landlords cannot contract out of them even with the tenant's apparent agreement.

What to do: Check whether your property is in a Rent Pressure Zone (the RTB has a postcode checker on their website). If it is, a six-month review clause has no legal standing. You should still flag it before signing to avoid any confusion later, but know that if the landlord attempts to enforce it, you have clear grounds to refuse.

Clause 6: "Tenant Must Give 60 Days Notice to Vacate"

What the lease says: "The tenant must provide a minimum of 60 days written notice of their intention to vacate the property."

Why it's wrong,or at least incomplete: This one is more nuanced than the others. The notice a tenant must give to end a tenancy depends on how long the tenancy has been running, and a blanket 60-day requirement is frequently either too short or incorrectly applied. More importantly, the same clause often goes nowhere near reflecting the protections the tenant has against being asked to leave,meaning the notice period the landlord claims you owe them is spelled out, but the far longer notice they owe you is conveniently absent.

What the law actually says: Landlords now face significant minimum notice obligations before they can end a tenancy. Under current RTB rules, notice periods run from 90 days for tenancies under six months, all the way up to 224 days for tenancies longer than eight years. These protections are not something a lease can reduce. If your lease says your landlord can ask you to leave with 60 days' notice after you've been there three years, that clause is not binding,the statutory minimum in that scenario is 180 days.

What to do: Read the termination section of any lease carefully, checking both what you owe the landlord and what they owe you. The tenant notice period is generally shorter and is fine to include in a lease. The landlord notice period must at minimum match the statutory tables, and any lease claiming otherwise is misrepresenting your rights. If you are ever served a notice to vacate, check the RTB notice period calculator before you even think about packing.

Clause 7: "The Property Must Be Professionally Cleaned on Departure"

What the lease says: "On vacating the property, the tenant must arrange and pay for a professional cleaning service to return the property to move-in condition, with receipts provided to the landlord."

Why it's legally shaky: The RTB has, in multiple dispute cases, rejected blanket "professional cleaning required" requirements as an automatic condition of departure. The legal standard is that you return the property in a similar condition to how you received it, accounting for fair wear and tear. That might or might not require professional cleaning depending on the circumstances, and it is not something that can be imposed as an automatic cost regardless of the property's condition.

What the law actually says: You must leave the property in a condition that is reasonably similar to how you found it, after accounting for reasonable wear and tear over the length of the tenancy. If you lived there three years and the carpets need a clean, that is normal. If you had a party that destroyed a room, that is not. The key point is that this is assessed on the actual condition, not on a blanket requirement that every departing tenant pay a cleaning company regardless of the state of the place.

What to do: Document the property's condition thoroughly when you move in,photographs with timestamps, ideally an inventory signed by both parties. Do the same when you move out. If the property is in a reasonable condition on departure and your landlord tries to withhold the deposit for professional cleaning costs, that documented comparison is exactly the evidence an RTB adjudicator will want to see. A blanket cleaning clause in the lease does not automatically entitle the landlord to deduct cleaning costs from your deposit.

What to Do If Your Lease Has One of These

Finding a dodgy clause does not necessarily mean walking away from an apartment you want. Here is what most experienced renters do.

First, flag it in writing. Email the landlord or agent saying you have reviewed the lease and would like to discuss specific clauses before signing. Put it in an email so there is a record. This is not aggressive,it is responsible, and any decent landlord or agent will understand that.

Second, propose specific changes. Rather than saying "this clause is illegal," which puts people on the defensive, try "I'd like to update clause 4 to reflect the landlord's repair obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act." You get the same outcome without making it confrontational.

Third, know your fallback. If a landlord refuses to amend a clause that is clearly illegal, that tells you something useful about how disputes are going to go during the tenancy. You can sign and deal with it if things go wrong through the RTB, or you can walk away. Neither option is wrong,it depends on how much you want the property and how risky the specific clause is.

Finally, keep everything. Once you sign, the lease is your reference document for any future dispute. Every email, every text, every photo of the property on move-in day. The RTB dispute process is free and accessible, but it runs on evidence.

The Faster Way to Check Any Lease

Reading a 20-page tenancy agreement carefully takes time most people do not have when they are in the middle of a Dublin property hunt and the agent is chasing them for a signed copy by end of business. The AI Lease Review tool on HomeScout scans your tenancy agreement and flags clauses that conflict with Irish tenancy law, tells you which ones are illegal, which are unfair but technically legal, and which are completely standard. It takes a couple of minutes rather than a couple of hours, and it catches language that most people would read straight past.

You can also check the HomeScout guide to signing your first lease in Ireland for a more detailed walkthrough of the full signing process, from what to ask before you view a property to what to document when you collect the keys.

FAQ

Can I refuse to sign specific clauses?

You can, though the practical outcome depends on the landlord's flexibility. You have every right to request amendments before signing,a lease is a negotiation until both parties agree. Strike through clauses you refuse to accept, initial the changes, and get the landlord to countersign. If the landlord refuses to budge on an illegal clause, you have to decide whether the apartment is worth signing anyway. Remember: an illegal clause is not enforceable regardless of whether it's in the document, but having it there creates unnecessary friction if things go wrong.

What if my landlord won't remove an illegal clause?

If they insist on keeping an illegal clause in the lease, you can still sign because the clause has no legal force. The Residential Tenancies Act overrides whatever the lease says. Document the clause, note the date you signed, and keep a copy of the lease. If the landlord attempts to act on the illegal clause later, you have a paper trail and a clear legal basis to push back through the RTB.

Is a lease valid if it contains illegal clauses?

Yes, the lease itself is still valid,you still have a tenancy. The illegal clauses are simply void, meaning they cannot be enforced, while the rest of the agreement stands. Irish tenancy law essentially treats illegal lease terms as if they were never written in the first place, replacing them with the statutory default. So signing a lease with an illegal clause does not mean you've agreed to be bound by it.

What is the RTB and how does it help tenants?

The Residential Tenancies Board is Ireland's regulator for the rental sector. It runs a free dispute resolution service where both landlords and tenants can bring complaints about deposits, illegal evictions, breach of obligations, and similar issues. If your landlord withholds your deposit without cause, enters the property without notice, or ignores repair obligations, filing with the RTB is the appropriate next step. The process is free for tenants and the outcomes are legally binding.

How do I know if my area is in a Rent Pressure Zone?

Check the RTB's postcode checker at rtb.ie. Most of Dublin city and county is covered by RPZ rules, which means the six-monthly rent review clause described above has no legal standing in most Dublin rentals. The RPZ status of an area can also change, so it is worth checking at the point of signing rather than relying on what you were told at the viewing.