RTB deposit dispute: Irish condition evidence

When a tenancy ends and the landlord keeps some or all of the deposit, the argument is often about condition: what the dwelling was like at the start, what it was like at the end, and whether the difference is damage or ordinary wear and tear. A condition report does not decide a Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) case. A contemporaneous file — check-in, check-out, dated photographs, and tenant sign-off — lets you describe that difference without reconstructing it from memory.

This is not legal advice. TenureFolio is a documentation tool. It does not say whether a deduction is lawful, predict RTB outcomes, or replace Board procedures, a solicitor, or fair dealing. Photographs and signatures support a factual account. They do not replace the current process, an itemised deduction, or treating fair wear and tear as the landlord’s cost. No PDF is “accepted by the RTB” as a pre-approved form.

What an Irish deposit dispute is actually about

In Ireland the landlord typically holds the security deposit. There is no UK-style scheme that lodges the money with a third party as a matter of course. If the tenant disputes a deduction, the specialised forum is usually the RTB. Start from rtb.ie for the current process — not from a blog post or a software vendor.

Deposit retention is a recognised dispute type. Public RTB materials on disputes and wear and tear typically mention the letting agreement, proof the deposit was paid, start and end inventories, photographs, invoices, and correspondence. Those lists are guidance, not a promise that any document will be treated as decisive.

A condition file is trying to answer three questions:

1. Baseline — what was present, and in what state, when the tenant took occupation?
2. End state — what was present, and in what state, when they left?
3. The gap — which changes go beyond fair wear and tear, and what did those changes cost?

Without a baseline, an end-of-tenancy photograph is only a picture of a room. It does not show change.

Build the file at check-in, not after the dispute

The paper trail starts on move-in day. A check-in completed weeks later, from memory, is a reconstruction.

A useful Irish tenancy check-in inventory is room-by-room and specific. “Kitchen: fair” is hard to compare later. “Kitchen worktop: laminate, two chips at the sink” can be compared with a check-out note and a photograph of the same edge. For a fuller contents list, see what to include in a property condition report.

Record every habitable room plus hall, stairs, landing, and any store or garden in the letting; fixtures you may later claim for; existing marks in writing, not only in a photo; meter readings if utilities sit with the tenancy; and the date, time, and who was present.

Do the same walk at the property check-out inspection, using the same rooms and items. A check-out that inventories rooms the check-in never mentioned looks like a new complaint, not a comparison.

Dated photographs that can be matched

Public RTB materials commonly encourage photographic evidence of damage, preferably before and after the tenancy, and dated images where possible. That is practical advice, not a rule that a date stamp makes a photo conclusive.

Every photograph should be attributable to a room, an item, a date, and a tenancy. A camera roll is a poor archive. A stained carpet with no date, no room label, and no matching check-in image does not show whether the stain was already there.

Prefer photos taken during the inspection, the same viewpoints at check-in and check-out (wide shot, then the defect), captions that name the room and the issue, and storage with the report rather than only in a messaging app. Video can help as a walkthrough; still pair it with stills of each defect.

Tenant sign-off is part of the record

A condition report the tenant never saw is a landlord’s account. A report they reviewed and signed is still not a determination — they may later dispute the deduction — and a signature on the inventory is not agreement to a later charge. It only shows the baseline was put in front of them at the time.

Invite sign-off on the property condition report promptly after the inspection. Make clear what is being agreed: the notes, the photos, and the date. If they note a disagreement, record it. If they will not sign, keep the unsigned report, the photos, and a written record that you sent it and asked for comment.

A timestamped magic-link signature is useful because it records when the tenant reviewed the report, not because software confers extra legal force. TenureFolio’s tenant signing works that way: they open a link, review the condition record, and sign without an account. That is documentation hygiene, not RTB procedure.

Compare condition; do not narrate a grievance

A comparison turns two inspections into one story. Side by side, room by room, show what was recorded at check-in, what was recorded at check-out, what changed, and which changes you treat as wear and tear rather than damage or missing items.

Keep the language descriptive. “Tenant wrecked the place” is not evidence. “Check-in: oven interior clean. Check-out: baked-on residue on trays and door glass; photograph 14” is a note you can attach to a quote.

Where you propose a deduction, quotes or invoices for the actual work — and a sense of the item’s age — belong with the file. Charging full replacement for something already well worn is a common way a claim unravels. Give the tenant a chance to respond, and where it is reasonable to remedy, before you treat the deposit as settled. Keep the written correspondence.

Condition records are a different job from RTB registration, BER and gas dates. Keep both; do not confuse them.

What typically weakens a condition claim

These patterns do not decide a case; they make the narrative harder to follow:

• No check-in — end-of-tenancy photos have nothing to be measured against
• Undated camera-roll images — you cannot show they were taken on inspection day
• WhatsApp as the archive — useful as corroboration, poor as the inventory
• Check-out only of the “bad” rooms — selective recording looks like advocacy
• Vague grades with no photos — “poor condition” without a captioned image is an opinion
• Ignoring wear and tear — scuffed paint after a long tenancy is not a broken door
• No tenant copy, or a file assembled after the dispute started — late labelling and photos pulled from several phones suggest reconstruction

Checklist: a deposit-dispute condition file

At the start of the tenancy

• [ ] Room-by-room check-in on or about the move-in date
• [ ] Existing defects written down; dated, captioned photos stored with the report
• [ ] Tenant given the report and a chance to sign or comment
• [ ] Letting agreement and proof of deposit payment kept with the tenancy record

During the tenancy

• [ ] Notes of inspections, repairs, and damage already raised, plus receipts that age replacements

At the end of the tenancy

• [ ] Check-out on the same room template, with matching photographs
• [ ] Comparison of condition, with wear and tear separated from claimed damage
• [ ] Quotes or invoices, and a written itemisation sent to the tenant with time to reply

If the matter proceeds to the RTB

• [ ] Follow the Board’s current application and evidence instructions on rtb.ie; submit what supports the facts and redact unrelated personal data

Keep the file in one place

Scattered evidence is how DIY landlords lose the thread: check-in in an email, photos on a phone, WhatsApp screenshots, a Word inventory with no date. TenureFolio is built for that gap — structured check-in and check-out, a comparison report, an evidence-pack PDF, and a timestamped tenant magic-link signature.

The free tier covers one property and one tenancy. You can pay €4.99 to unlock a report, or subscribe (Starter €9, Portfolio €19, Pro €39 per month). That does not change the legal position: you still decide what to deduct, you still deal fairly, and if a dispute is referred to the RTB it is the Board’s process that determines the outcome.

Create a free TenureFolio account and start the check-in while the keys are still on the table.