Sections 1 to 6 of the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 will come into law from 1 April 2023, requiring private landlords to take certain actions.

When the new law comes into force:

• Landlords must provide tenants with a notice containing tenancy information. This includes for current tenants who have not already received this type of tenancy information;
• Landlords must also provide tenants with a notice of variation when any changes are made to their tenancies;
• Landlords must provide receipts for any cash payment in relation to a tenancy;
• Landlords are only permitted to take or hold on to a tenancy deposit of no more than one month’s rent;
• There will be increased time periods for protecting and providing information on tenancy deposits; and
• Failure to protect a tenancy deposit will become a continuing offence, as the previous six month time barrier to prosecution of tenancy deposit offence has been removed.

In the lead up to the changes, the Department for Communities is making tenants and landlords aware of how it may impact them.