From 1 March 2026, every new private tenancy in Ireland is a Tenancy of Minimum Duration (TMD) — it lasts six years, then renews in further six-year cycles. The tenant can still leave at any time; the landlord can only end it on the grounds the rules allow, and those grounds now depend on whether you're a small landlord (three or fewer tenancies) or a large landlord (four or more). Rent can only be reset to market rent at a cycle boundary or in specific tenant-exit cases — otherwise the 2% or CPI cap applies. The practical challenge is tracking, per tenancy, where it sits in its six-year cycle. TenantSync anchors each tenancy to its commencement date and tracks that clock alongside your RTB and rent-review dates — free 14-day trial, no card required.
Of all the March 2026 reforms, the Tenancy of Minimum Duration is the one that quietly changes the shape of every tenancy you take on from now. It isn't a single deadline you can put in a diary — it's a six-year clock that starts the day the tenancy begins and governs when you can end it and when you can reset the rent. Across a portfolio, that's dozens of overlapping clocks, each at a different point in its cycle.
The rules aren't impossible to work with. But they reward landlords and agents who know exactly where each tenancy sits — and they punish guesswork with the two most expensive mistakes in lettings: an invalid termination, or a rent reset you were entitled to and missed.
This is a guide, not legal advice
The Tenancy of Minimum Duration framework, the small/large landlord distinction, the grounds for termination and the rent-reset rules are detailed, fact-specific and still bedding in. This article explains the general position for private residential tenancies created from 1 March 2026. Confirm the current rules for your own tenancies with the RTB, and take legal advice on a contested termination or reset, before acting.
Part 4 is out, TMD is in
For years, the security-of-tenure system ran on Part 4. For tenancies created from 1 March 2026, that's replaced by the Tenancy of Minimum Duration. The core of it is simple to state:
- Six-year minimum duration. A new tenancy runs for six years, and the landlord can only bring it to an end within that period on a permitted ground.
- Rolling cycles. At the end of the six years the tenancy renews for another six-year cycle, and continues that way — it doesn't simply lapse.
- The tenant isn't locked in. The minimum duration binds the landlord, not the tenant: a tenant can still end the tenancy at any time by giving proper notice.
One important boundary: the TMD framework applies to tenancies created from 1 March 2026. Tenancies that began before that date are dealt with under separate transitional arrangements, so the rules that apply to your older tenancies may differ from the ones that apply to new ones. That mix — new tenancies on the TMD clock, older ones on transitional rules — is exactly what makes tracking by hand so error-prone. Confirm how each of your tenancies is treated at rtb.ie.
Why "duration" is the word that matters
The reform's whole logic is duration: a tenancy is now a six-year commitment from the landlord's side, and the two levers landlords care about — ending the tenancy and resetting the rent — are pegged to where you are in that six-year window. Miss where a tenancy sits in its cycle and you can misjudge both.
How the 6-year cycle works
Everything flows from one date: the tenancy's commencement date. From it, the six-year cycle is simple arithmetic — but arithmetic that has to be right for every tenancy, every cycle.
| Point in the cycle | What it governs |
|---|---|
| Commencement | The clock starts. The 30-day RTB registration deadline and the six-year duration both run from here. |
| During the 6 years | The landlord can only end the tenancy on a permitted ground (which depends on landlord type). Rent increases are capped at 2% or CPI, whichever is lower. |
| End of the 6-year cycle | The tenancy renews for a further six years. This is the point at which a market-rent reset can be permitted. |
| Next cycle | The same rules run again on the new six-year window — a rolling commitment, not a one-off. |
The cycle is arithmetic on the commencement date — and arithmetic across a portfolio of overlapping start dates is precisely where a human, working from a spreadsheet, eventually loses track of which tenancy is where.
See where every tenancy sits in its 6-year cycle
TenantSync anchors each tenancy to its commencement date and tracks the six-year clock — the cycle position, the reset point, the RTB registration and renewal dates — on one compliance dashboard across your whole portfolio.
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Ending a TMD: small landlord vs large landlord
The biggest change the TMD brings is who can end a tenancy, and when. A landlord can no longer end a tenancy simply because the six years are up or because they'd prefer to — and the grounds available depend on your landlord type. Under the reforms, a small landlord has three or fewer tenancies, and a large landlord has four or more (companies included).
| Landlord type | Ending a Tenancy of Minimum Duration |
|---|---|
| Large landlord (4+ tenancies) |
No longer able to use 'no-fault' grounds. During the cycle a tenancy can generally only be ended for reasons such as a tenant breach (for example serious anti-social behaviour or rent arrears after a valid warning). |
| Small landlord (3 or fewer tenancies) |
May end a TMD during its six-year term in limited cases — for example where financial or other hardship requires the property to be sold, or where the landlord or a close family member needs to live in it — in addition to tenant-breach grounds. |
Whatever your landlord type, the mechanics of ending a tenancy are unchanged and unforgiving: you still need a valid notice of termination with the correct notice period for the tenancy length, the reason stated, and a copy filed with the RTB the same day it's served. The TMD rules decide whether you can end the tenancy; the notice-of-termination rules decide whether the notice itself stands up. Get both right — our guide to the 2026 notice of termination rules covers the second half in detail.
Classification isn't a one-time thing
Whether you're a "small" or "large" landlord turns on how many tenancies you hold — which can change as you buy, sell or take on management. Because the classification changes what grounds are open to you, it's worth knowing your count and re-checking it before you rely on a ground to end a tenancy. Confirm how the threshold applies to your situation at rtb.ie.
The market-rent reset window
The second lever the cycle governs is rent. Between resets, an increase is capped at the national rate — 2% or inflation (CPI), whichever is lower — the same cap that applies across the country since Rent Pressure Zones ended (see our national rent cap guide). What the TMD adds is a small number of moments where rent can instead be re-set to market rent:
- At the end of a six-year cycle. The cycle boundary is a permitted reset point.
- When a new tenancy begins — but only in specific circumstances. A market reset is allowed where the previous tenancy ended because the tenant left by choice, breached their obligations, or the property no longer suited their needs.
The critical exclusion: you cannot re-set to market rent for the next tenancy after a 'no-fault' termination. In other words, ending a tenancy on a no-fault ground doesn't unlock a market reset — that's a deliberate part of the design. Treating a reset as automatically available is one of the easiest ways to set an invalid rent, so the reset window is exactly the kind of thing worth having flagged rather than assumed.
Get the Tenancy of Minimum Duration explainer — and the cycle-timeline template
Start a free 14-day trial and TenantSync anchors every tenancy to its commencement date, tracks the six-year cycle and reset window, and keeps it beside your RTB and rent-review dates — the timeline below, tracked for you.
What this means across a portfolio
For a single tenancy, you could just about hold the cycle in your head. For an agency or a landlord with a book of properties, the TMD adds a third clock to every tenancy — on top of the RTB registration/renewal clock and the rent-review clock — and each one is anchored to a different start date.
That's the real operational shift. The question is no longer just "is this tenancy registered?" but "where is it in its six-year cycle, what grounds are open to me right now, and when does its reset window arrive?" — asked across every tenancy at once. Answered from a spreadsheet, that's a standing source of error; answered from a system that derives all three clocks from each commencement date, it's a dashboard you glance at.
The mistakes that cost you
The TMD's expensive mistakes all come from misreading the cycle. Each one is avoidable if you know where a tenancy sits.
| Mistake | Why it costs you |
|---|---|
| Treating a new tenancy like old Part 4 | The grounds and durations differ — assuming the old rules can lead to an invalid termination. |
| Ending mid-term without a permitted ground | During the six years you need a ground open to your landlord type; a 'no-fault' ending by a large landlord won't stand. |
| Assuming a reset after a no-fault termination | A market-rent reset is not available after a no-fault termination — set one and the rent is invalid. |
| Missing the reset window at the cycle boundary | If you don't know when the six years end, you can miss a market reset you were entitled to. |
| Getting your small/large classification wrong | Relying on a ground that isn't open to your landlord type invalidates the termination. |
Notice the pattern: not one of these is about not knowing the law. They're about not knowing, for this tenancy, where it sits in its cycle and which rules apply right now. That's a tracking problem — and tracking is what software is for.
How TenantSync tracks the 6-year clock
TenantSync is built so the cycle isn't something anyone has to remember. Because it already anchors every tenancy to its commencement date to run RTB compliance, the same date drives the TMD clock:
- Anchored to the commencement date. Add a tenancy with its start date and the six-year duration, the cycle boundary and the RTB registration and renewal dates are all derived from it — nothing is typed in twice.
- Cycle position at a glance. Every tenancy shows where it sits in its six-year window, so you can see which tenancies are mid-cycle and which are approaching a reset point — across the whole portfolio.
- Reset window flagged, not assumed. The end-of-cycle reset point is tracked alongside rent-review eligibility, so a market reset you're entitled to is surfaced rather than missed — and the 2% / CPI cap is applied between resets.
- One dashboard, three clocks. The TMD cycle sits on the same compliance dashboard as RTB registration, annual renewal and rent reviews — colour-coded compliant, upcoming and overdue — so the 200th tenancy is no riskier than the 20th.
It's the same platform that keeps every RTB registration and renewal on track, checks rent reviews against the national rent cap, and generates a compliant notice of termination when a permitted ground applies — on web, iOS and Android, so the six-year clock is one you glance at, not one you gamble on.
How to get started
- Start your free 14-day trial — no credit card required.
- Add each tenancy with its commencement date — the six-year cycle and RTB dates derive themselves.
- See the cycle position for every tenancy on one compliance dashboard.
- Act on the flags — reset windows, rent-review eligibility and deadlines — before they pass.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Tenancy of Minimum Duration in Ireland?
It's the new form of tenancy for private tenancies created from 1 March 2026. It lasts six years and then renews in further six-year cycles, replacing Part 4 as landlords knew it for new tenancies. The tenant isn't tied to the six years and can leave at any time with proper notice; the landlord can only end it on a permitted ground. Confirm the current position at rtb.ie.
Can a landlord end a Tenancy of Minimum Duration early?
It depends on the landlord type. Large landlords (four or more tenancies) can no longer use 'no-fault' grounds, so during the cycle they can generally only end for reasons such as a tenant breach. Small landlords (three or fewer tenancies) may end a TMD during its term in limited cases — such as hardship requiring a sale, or needing the property for themselves or a close family member. A valid notice of termination with the correct period and same-day RTB filing is still required. Confirm the grounds at rtb.ie.
When can rent be reset to market rent under the 2026 rules?
For tenancies from 1 March 2026, rent can be re-set to market rent at the end of a six-year cycle, and when a new tenancy begins — but only where the previous tenancy ended because the tenant left by choice, breached their obligations, or the property no longer suited their needs. It cannot be reset after a 'no-fault' termination. Between resets, increases are capped at 2% or CPI, whichever is lower. Confirm current rules and figures at rtb.ie.
What is the difference between a small and a large landlord?
A small landlord has three or fewer tenancies; a large landlord has four or more (companies included). The distinction changes the grounds on which a Tenancy of Minimum Duration can be ended — large landlords can't use 'no-fault' grounds, while small landlords have limited additional grounds such as hardship-sale or own/family use. Because your count can change, re-check your classification before relying on a ground. Confirm at rtb.ie.
How does TenantSync track the 6-year tenancy cycle?
TenantSync anchors each tenancy to its commencement date and derives the milestones that flow from it — the six-year cycle position and reset point, the RTB registration and annual renewal deadlines, and rent-review eligibility under the national rent cap — on one compliance dashboard across the portfolio. You see where every tenancy sits at a glance instead of tracking it by hand, on web, iOS and Android. General guidance, not legal advice; confirm the rules at rtb.ie.