Your landlord locked you out? Your landlord has zero legal right to do that without an RTB Determination or Court Order.

Stay calm — illegal eviction is not legal eviction

Under RTA 2004 s.58, the landlord is prohibited from taking possession of the dwelling without a Determination Order from the RTB or an order of the District Court enforcing one. That means your landlord cannot lawfully:

• Change the locks or otherwise physically bar you from the dwelling.
• Cut electricity, gas, water, heating, or internet in an attempt to force you out — known as "constructive eviction".
• Remove your belongings, place them outside, or store them elsewhere without your written consent.
• Threaten you, your family, or your visitors to secure vacant possession.
• Enter the dwelling outside of a properly notified inspection, repair, or other lawful purpose.

Self-help eviction is a separate wrong from any underlying tenancy dispute. Even if a landlord believes the tenant is in arrears, in breach, or overholding after a notice period, the only lawful route is the RTB / District Court. The behaviour above is reportable to both the RTB and An Garda Síochána on the same day.

Call An Garda Síochána on 999 or 112

If you have been locked out, services have been cut, your belongings have been moved, or the landlord is on the premises threatening you, call 999 or 112 straight away. The Garda may treat the matter as civil at first instance — many do — but the criminal route exists. The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 covers force and trespass at a dwelling and gives the Garda jurisdiction to attend.

• Tell the call-taker: "I am a tenant and my landlord has locked me out / cut my services / removed my belongings. This is an illegal eviction under Section 58 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004."
• Ask Garda for and write down the PULSE incident number. You will need it for the RTB dispute file and for any later District Court proceedings.
• If Garda decline to attend, ask politely for the reason and write it down. Then call Threshold (1800 454 454) for support and proceed with an RTB dispute.
• Photograph everything — the changed lock, the damaged door, removed belongings, disconnected meters, text messages from the landlord. Photo metadata (date / time) matters.

The 28-day RTB clock — RTA 2004 s.78

If your landlord served a Notice of Termination (NoT) before the lockout — or is now claiming one was served — you have a hard 28-day window from the day you received the NoT to refer the validity dispute to the RTB Dispute Resolution Service under RTA 2004 s.78. The clock runs whether you agree with the NoT or not. Miss the 28 days and you may be deemed to have accepted the NoT's validity.

The RTB Dispute Resolution Service is free to use. Filing a dispute does not require a solicitor. The RTB process moves through mediation (or adjudication if you prefer not to mediate) and, if necessary, a tribunal. If the RTB rules in your favour and the landlord ignores the Determination Order, the District Court enforces RTB Determination Orders on application.

File the referral at rtb.ie/dispute-resolution or call the RTB on 0818 30 30 37 / 01 702 8100. If you need help drafting the rebuttal, the paid Commoner Law RTB NoT Invalidity Rebuttal Letter is $9 and is designed to plug into the RTB dispute form.

Small landlord vs large landlord — the RTMP 2026 rules

The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 (RTMP 2026, Act No. 3 of 2026) received Royal Assent on 24 February 2026 and commenced 1 March 2026 for new tenancies. The most important change for tenants facing a no-fault NoT is the new size-based distinction:

• Small landlord = 1–3 tenancies. Under RTMP 2026, a small landlord serving a no-fault Notice of Termination (e.g. sale of the property, family member moving in, substantial refurbishment) must now provide a statutory declaration setting out the ground and sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths, peace commissioner, or solicitor. No statutory declaration, no valid NoT.
• Large landlord = 4+ tenancies, or a company. The no-fault grounds are tighter for large landlords; the statutory declaration mechanism does not apply because no-fault grounds are substantially restricted in the first place.
• Tenant verification. Email [email protected] with a copy of the NoT and the landlord's name. RTB confirms whether the landlord is registered as small or large under RTMP 2026 and whether the statutory declaration was filed. Use the confirmation as evidence in your RTB dispute.
• Anti-social ground = 7-day NoT, no prior warning. The only NoT ground that can be served as short as 7 days and without prior warning is the anti-social-behaviour ground. The bar for this ground is high and it does not legalise self-help eviction — even with a valid 7-day NoT, the landlord still needs an RTB Determination Order or District Court order before changing the locks.

RTMP 2026 took effect for new tenancies from 1 March 2026. For tenancies in existence before that date, certain transitional provisions apply; the RTB and Threshold can confirm which regime your tenancy falls under.

Threshold helpline — 1800 454 454

Threshold is Ireland's national housing charity and the single best source of free expert tenancy support. Their freephone 1800 454 454 is open Mon-Fri 09:00-21:00 and Sat 10:00-14:00. Threshold caseworkers can:

• Read your Notice of Termination on the call and tell you whether it is valid on its face under RTA 2004 / RTMP 2026.
• Help you draft and lodge the RTB dispute referral within the 28-day window.
• Coordinate emergency accommodation if the locks have already been changed and you have nowhere to go tonight.
• Refer to local advice centres in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Mid-West.

SOS hotlines

All the numbers below are free to call from any phone in Ireland (including from a mobile in pay-as-you-go). Verified 14 May 2026 against official portals.

Wallet card — screenshot this

The text below fits on one phone screen. Screenshot it now and save it where you can find it without unlocking the app — even a paper printout in your wallet works. If the lockout happens later, you will have the steps and the numbers in front of you without needing to search.

If your landlord locks you out in Ireland:
1. Call Garda — 999 or 112. Illegal eviction is unlawful under
   Residential Tenancies Act 2004 s.58.
2. Photograph the door / changed lock / removed belongings.
3. Call Threshold 1800 454 454 for free expert support.
4. If you received a Notice of Termination first, you have 28 days
   from receipt to refer validity to the RTB (s.78 RTA 2004).
5. The RTB Dispute Resolution Service is FREE.
   District Court enforces RTB Determination Orders.
6. Email [email protected] to verify your landlord's
   RTB Register status.

Right now — what to do

1. If you have just been locked out: dial Garda on 999 or 112 immediately. Cite RTA 2004 s.58 and ask for the PULSE incident number.
2. Photograph everything — the changed lock, the door, the disconnected meter, removed belongings, text messages from the landlord. Photo metadata is evidence.
3. Call Threshold on 1800 454 454 for free expert support. They can validate the NoT on the call.
4. Lodge an RTB dispute at rtb.ie/dispute-resolution within 28 days from receipt of the NoT (RTA 2004 s.78). The service is free.
5. Email [email protected] with a copy of the NoT and the landlord's name to verify their RTB Register status and (for small landlords serving no-fault NoTs) the statutory declaration under RTMP 2026.
6. If you have nowhere to go tonight: call Focus Ireland on 1800 724 724 (24/7) or Simon Community Dublin on 1850 222 444.
7. Take a screenshot of this page or save the hotline numbers in your contacts. Print the wallet card above.

After the emergency call — the rebuttal letter

Once you have called Garda and Threshold and opened the RTB dispute file, you will want to put your rebuttal in writing. Two Commoner Law products are tailored to RTA 2004 / RTMP 2026 procedure. They are paid (the letter is $9; the pack is $29), but the Garda, the RTB, and Threshold are always free and should always come first.

• Ireland RTB Notice-of-Termination Invalidity Rebuttal Letter ($9) — drafts a formal rebuttal citing the specific RTA 2004 / RTMP 2026 defects in your landlord's NoT (missing statutory declaration, wrong notice period, defective ground, etc.) and plugs into the RTB dispute referral form.
• Ireland RTB Notice-of-Termination Fightback Pack ($29) — the full bundle: NoT invalidity rebuttal, RTB dispute referral, illegal-eviction Garda complaint template, deposit-retention referral, and a District Court enforcement primer.
• Contact Commoner Law — if a hotline number above no longer works, tell us so we can update this page.