The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 introduced what are known as ‘Part 4’ rights which are automatically acquired by a tenant when they have lived in a rental property for 6 months or more, (regardless of which type of lease the tenant has) and they have not been issued with a valid notice of termination by the landlord or agent. These rights mean that subject to meeting their tenancy obligations for example, paying the rent, the tenant may stay in the property for a total of four years (the initial 6 months plus an additional 3.5 years). This is referred to as Part 4 Tenancy. The implications of ‘Part 4 rights (for example in relation to serving notice) vary depending on whether the initial lease was a periodic or a fixed term lease.