Private renting in Northern Ireland

Your local council investigates landlord harassment and illegal eviction, and can prosecute a landlord who is not registered. Housing Rights gives free advice to private tenants.

Your deposit

A landlord cannot ask for a tenancy deposit which is more than one month's rent. If you paid your deposit on or after 1 April 2013, your landlord must protect your money in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Your landlord must protect your deposit in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme within 28 days of receiving it.

When you pay your deposit, the landlord must give you written information about your tenancy within 35 days, including which scheme holds it and how to raise a dispute about getting it back. Paying rent up front doesn't count as a deposit.

Rent increases

From 1 April 2025 a landlord cannot increase rent within 12 months of granting a tenancy or within the 12 months following the date of the last rent increase. Landlords must also give tenants a three-month written notice of the rent increase, which can be by email or text. This restriction does not apply where the rent of the property is controlled by the Rent Officer.

Paperwork your landlord must give you

Your landlord must provide you with a free Tenancy Information Notice within 28 days of the start of your tenancy. It sets out your rent, rates, the length of the tenancy and what the deposit can be used for. If any of it changes, your landlord should give you a free Notice of Variation within 28 days. A written agreement cannot reduce your basic rights as a tenant.

All private landlords must register with the Landlord Registration Scheme before letting a new tenancy. If you share the home with your landlord, you're a licensee, not a tenant, with fewer rights.

Notice to quit

A landlord must always provide the tenant with a written notice to quit, except in the case of a fixed term tenancy. The minimum the landlord must give depends on how long you have lived there:

• tenancy not more than 12 months: no less than 4 weeks' written notice
• more than 12 months but not more than 10 years: no less than 8 weeks' written notice
• more than 10 years: no less than 12 weeks' written notice

Harassment and illegal eviction are criminal offences. If it happens, contact your council's Environmental Health office, which can prosecute landlords. Get advice from Housing Rights before giving your own notice.

Repairs and unfit homes

If you rent your home, your landlord is responsible for major repairs, including the structure and exterior, heating and hot water. All rented accommodation must meet the fitness standard. If your landlord does not fix a hazard, you can contact an environmental health officer in the local council.

Where a district council inspects a private tenancy and finds it is unfit, the Rent Officer will be notified and will work out the maximum rent the landlord can charge. Since 1 April 2007, landlords of all new private tenancies in homes built before 1945 must request a fitness inspection from the council.

Letting a room in your own home

If you let part of your home and also live there, the people sharing your accommodation are lodgers, not tenants. The Rent a Room Scheme allows you to earn £7,500 a year tax-free from letting furnished accommodation in your own home. If you let rooms to tourists, you need to be certified by Tourism NI first.

If you fall behind on rent

Talk to your landlord early and agree what you can afford. If arrears are caused by a problem with your Housing Benefit, contact the Housing Executive. See debt help, Discretionary Support and homelessness help.

Common questions

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