Law Society Gazette article on the lease/licence distinction

Dr Una Woods' article 'If it quacks like a duck: The lease/licence distinction in Irish Law' is the cover story in the November, 2024 Law Society Gazette. It examines how the lease/licence distinction is determined by the Residential Tenancy Tribunals. Given the current housing crisis and the high levels of regulation of the residential rental sector it is unsurprising that landlords might attempt to evade the protections available to residential tenants by couching tenancy agreements in licence terminology. Residential Tenancy Tribunals have had to grapple with the lease/licence distinction in a judicial void without an Irish equivalent of Street v Mountford [1985] AC 809. This article reviews a sample of Tribunal Reports which deal with this issue with a view to ascertaining what is happening in practice.

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