Dispute with RTB on overholding

[Greenbook]

TBH I didt want / or expected it to be fast, so this suits me.. hopefully sale will go through and I can stop looking at all the depressing threads on AAM about being a landlord Or I can look at them with a smile on my face..

Yes, even if you are having a bad day, you can read the most recent posts and immediately cheer yourself up! I'm no longer a landlord and don't have to deal with of that/am not at risk of that

 

[JamieB_]

Yes, even if you are having a bad day, you can read the most recent posts and immediately cheer yourself up! I'm no longer a landlord and don't have to deal with of that/am not at risk of that

Same here. My lease with the council is nearly up and I dont have to pander to a swamp of rules when its up and will just sell it empty.

 

[Colin4444]

Update as of 21 Sept 2026

- The mediation meeting took place at 10am this morning.
- The tenants are buying the property, have mortgage approved, and are at solicitors stage at the moment.
- I spoke to my solicitor this morning, and they received title deeds this morning, and should be issuing contracts by the end of this week.
- The mediator advised, as their is so much in the air relating to buying the property i.e. if any issues arise that may delay the purchase, it would be very difficult to specify a date where the tenants need to vacate.
- They advised as we cannot reach an agreement, the this should be withdrawn, and told me their would be no issue in raising another dispute in a month or 2 if I see the sale is not going through?

Should I have done / said something different, as it is the RTB I have a sick feeling i have been duped!

 

[LarryScott]

- They advised as we cannot reach an agreement, the this should be withdrawn, and told me their would be no issue in raising another dispute in a month or 2 if I see the sale is not going through?

You should have clarified if that counts as a whole new dispute. Does it reset the timer (and notice periods) back to zero.

 

[stormy]

Thanks for the update, Colin.

I'd have pushed for a firm vacate date anyway — you'd never need to enforce it if the sale closes, but it'd be there if it didn't.

Withdrawing most likely means a fresh referral goes to the back of the queue if things stall. Your notice should still stand; it's the waiting you'd repeat. So if the sale wobbles, refer again straight away.

Fingers crossed it doesn't come to that.

 

[Colin4444]

You should have clarified if that counts as a whole new dispute. Does it reset the timer (and notice periods) back to zero.

Withdrawing most likely means a fresh referral goes to the back of the queue if things stall. Your notice should still stand; it's the waiting you'd repeat. So if the sale wobbles, refer again straight away.

Yeah it does mean a new dispute... the NoT is valid but have to start dispute process again.

'd have pushed for a firm vacate date anyway — you'd never need to enforce it if the sale closes, but it'd be there if it didn't.

The mediator was saying it was impossible to set a date due to how long a sale of house could take i.e. if something comes up that drags the sale out... But yeah in hindsight I should have pushed for a vacate date, so I was duped by RTB..

TBH it all depends if sale goes thru, cause if it doesnt Im in for a world of pain anyway, whether I had a vacate date set or not!!

 

[JamieB_]

Colin, if it drags out too long could you offer it to the council to buy with the tenants in it and see what they offer you?

 

[Bronte]

Update as of 21 Sept 2026

- The mediation meeting took place at 10am this morning.
- The tenants are buying the property, have mortgage approved, and are at solicitors stage at the moment.
- I spoke to my solicitor this morning, and they received title deeds this morning, and should be issuing contracts by the end of this week.
- The mediator advised, as their is so much in the air relating to buying the property i.e. if any issues arise that may delay the purchase, it would be very difficult to specify a date where the tenants need to vacate.
- They advised as we cannot reach an agreement, the this should be withdrawn, and told me their would be no issue in raising another dispute in a month or 2 if I see the sale is not going through?

Should I have done / said something different, as it is the RTB I have a sick feeling i have been duped!

Thanks Colin for giving us these details, it helps the rest of us landlords to understand how to deal with the RTB.

- all the stuff about selling to the tenants is noise.
- the mediators role was to mediate, not to advise you on house sale trivia. It is unclear why a date could not be agreed.
- the kernal here is that in the mediation you could not reach an agreement, then you move to dispute resolution, mediation is at an end. I cannot remember, but if there is no mediation agreement you move to a RTB hearing on the merits of the case. Did you not have this option?
- In your case, I believe your notice was invalid. I'd immediately move to issuing a new notice of T. Serving it on the same day via email to them and to the RTB.

I hope your house sale goes thru.

 

[Colin4444]

Thanks Colin for giving us these details, it helps the rest of us landlords to understand how to deal with the RTB.

- all the stuff about selling to the tenants is noise.
- the mediators role was to mediate, not to advise you on house sale trivia. It is unclear why a date could not be agreed.
- the kernal here is that in the mediation you could not reach an agreement, then you move to dispute resolution, mediation is at an end. I cannot remember, but if there is no mediation agreement you move to a RTB hearing on the merits of the case. Did you not have this option?
- In your case, I believe your notice was invalid. I'd immediately move to issuing a new notice of T. Serving it on the same day via email to them and to the RTB.

I hope your house sale goes thru.

Yeah, kinda kicking myself now for not getting a date agreed.... the mediator just kept saying due to house sale and all that goes with it that it would be impossible to set a date, but in hindsight it would have been very easy to set a date, I could have set a date of 1st December (which is what I had in mind when I went into meeting), if the tenant is buying the house it should be completed by then, or at least contracts signed!! and even if their was some legit unforeseen, the date could easily be extended... or if the sale falls thru at least then I have a date when tenants have to be out..

Now I have to start the whole dispute process again, setting me back by 4 months or so...

No mention of dispute resolution as we couldnt reach an agreement, she was at me to drop the dispute, advising that if house sale doesnt go through nothing stopping me from opening a new dispute...

aah well, just shows the whole PRT is biased, they make a concerted effort to side with tenant, not impartial at all...

Im basically praying it sells, TBH I have no reason to think it wont.....

 

[Greenbook]

aah well, just shows the whole PRT is biased, they make a concerted effort to side with tenant, not impartial at all...

100% correct there, they side with the tenant is the vast majority of cases

Im basically praying it sells, TBH I have no reason to think it wont.....

I think it will, the tenant seems to be genuinely anxious to buy, they are mortgage approved etc.

 

[Bronte]

Yeah, kinda kicking myself now for not getting a date agreed.... the mediator just kept saying due to house sale and all that goes with it that it would be impossible to set a date, but in hindsight it would have been very easy to set a date, I could have set a date of 1st December (which is what I had in mind when I went into meeting), if the tenant is buying the house it should be completed by then, or at least contracts signed!! and even if their was some legit unforeseen, the date could easily be extended... or if the sale falls thru at least then I have a date when tenants have to be out..

Now I have to start the whole dispute process again, setting me back by 4 months or so...

No mention of dispute resolution as we couldnt reach an agreement, she was at me to drop the dispute, advising that if house sale doesnt go through nothing stopping me from opening a new dispute...

aah well, just shows the whole PRT is biased, they make a concerted effort to side with tenant, not impartial at all...

Im basically praying it sells, TBH I have no reason to think it wont.....

Yes a date could have been set because it was what the Mediation was about. Not about the purported house sale. The date itself would just set a date which you could 'enforce'. Which you'd only do if the tenants didn't complete the purchase, and you'd have left it drag on if the sale was in process.

Your mediator is very blasé about your rights as a landlord and giving away the importance of time in the procedure. Your example helps educate us on being ready for this kind of thing when dealing with the RTB.

 

[Colin4444]

Yes a date could have been set because it was what the Mediation was about. Not about the purported house sale. The date itself would just set a date which you could 'enforce'. Which you'd only do if the tenants didn't complete the purchase, and you'd have left it drag on if the sale was in process.

Your mediator is very blasé about your rights as a landlord and giving away the importance of time in the procedure. Your example helps educate us on being ready for this kind of thing when dealing with the RTB.

I think that was the intention from the get go... Dropping the mediation was said very early in the conversation... nothing else was advised, no other rights / avenues etc were mentioned..

Even I mentioned that I had a date of the last day of November that they should be out by, which is over 2 months away, if the sale is going through it should be completed by then, but the mediator was very adamant that this would not work as house sales can drag on if their are any complications etc.etc..

This is the difference between small landlords and the vulture fund landlords - I dont have a clue what Im at... the vulture funds would have the necessary skills at each part of the RTB process... they'd never be duped!

 

[Lockup]

your last sentence is probably the mission one for the rtb!!

 

[Greenbook]

your last sentence is probably the mission one for the rtb!!

I know that some estate agents in Cork refer to it as the Rogue Tenants Board or the Protection of Rogue Tenants Board

 

[Bronte]

... Dropping the mediation was said very early in the conversation... nothing else was advised, no other rights / avenues etc were mentioned..

Even I mentioned that I had a date of the last day of November that they should be out by, which is over 2 months away, if the sale is going through it should be completed by then, but the mediator was very adamant that this would not work as house sales can drag on if their are any complications etc.etc..

It's really none of the business of the mediator about the house sale. That has NOTHING to do with what your dispute was.

I opened dispute with RTB as tenants were supposed to move out 30th May.. My NoT was issued last October by a solicitor.

Your dispute is about OVERHOLDING. You were looking for confirmation of the overholding. That is what the mediation should have been about.

This is the difference between small landlords and the vulture fund landlords - I dont have a clue what Im at... the vulture funds would have the necessary skills at each part of the RTB process... they'd never be duped!

This is not true Colin. The 'system' doesn't differentiate between categories of people. We had an Institutional case on here a couple of months ago (rent increase) and the institution with all it's might lost (I don't agree they should have) .

As a person who keeps an eye on the RTB cases, it's hit and miss what type of landlord will win or not.

Was the mediation in person? Did you bring someone to support you. It is NOT easy to do this, it's supposed to be 'friendly' but it's still complicated and intimidating. I completely, and I mean completely messed up my own first case, not because I was in the wrong, but because I'd no experience of it, by the time we were on the 3rd case we were really good at it, at that one I supported a sibling based on my experience. (Sibling one and tenant is still there 2 years later ! - he's paying the rent though !!)