Rent Prices are Crazy

MouseTail

murphaph wrote: »

A LL should only be able to evict a tenant if they are in breach of their tenancy terms or if he needs the property for himself or immediate family or indeed if he wishes to perform major repairs/improvements (but in this case the former tenants should have first dibs on renting the renovated property). I don't believe that a LL should be able t evict a tenant merely because it's 4 years since the tenancy commenced or recommenced.

Or if they wish to sell surely. Who would invest in property if you could not liquidate the asset?

murphaph

MouseTail wrote: »

Or if they wish to sell surely. Who would invest in property if you could not liquidate the asset?

You could sell, but with a sitting tenant.

MouseTail

murphaph wrote: »

You could sell, but with a sitting tenant.

So only to a cash buyer? That wont work in the current market with current stock levels. Perhaps we could have such restrictions if there was a new initiative similar to section 23 or section 50 for new high density builds close to economic hubs, ie tax relief for builds that remain in the rental sector.

murphaph

I'm not talking about the status quo....I'm talking of a reformed sector into which banks will lend for occupied buy to lets. With current legislation none of what I propose is possible.

murphaph

murphaph wrote: »

I believe that a LL should generally rent a property to a single individual who is liable for the entire rent and that head tenant should be able to sublet (if the LL believe his property is suitable for subletting.

That's not going to work in a lot of house shares in Ireland though. For instance in my current house share there is no lease and no one signs anything. I moved in by getting the keys of the person moving out, spoke to the LL for 5 mins on the phone (never met him) to get bank details and since (over a year ago) haven't seen or spoken to him. People have come and gone since I moved in also and generally in the house it wouldn't work having a "head" house mate as pretty much any of us could decide to leave and things would get complicated. We all just pay our portion of the rent into his account every month, nice and simple and no need for collecting it all etc. ESB and gas bills come to the house in his name and we open and pay them, so no one has bills in their nam either again making it really easy for people to come and go.

My previous houseshare was similar though there was an original person who leased the place but he was gone years by the time I left and there was a turn over of people coming and going through out my time there. Again people could leave with a months notice so having a head house mate with a lease in their name would just complicate things and they would lose their ability I leave with a months notice.

murphaph

Making it easy for people to "come and go" is all fine and well until there is a dispute about deposits or whatever. What would your LL do if one of you stopped paying rent and just stayed there? How could he legally proceed? As a landlord I certainly wouldn't be happy with such a "doss house" type letting but horses for course. I hope for your landlord's sake that nothing ever goes wrong as it'll be very messy sorting it out if (when) it does.

Grandpa Hassan

Yeh, murphaphs's proposal would make the typical house sharing for younger lower income people pretty much impossible. And the LL would be taking a hell of a risk only having one person, with a low income, on the hook for the entire rent of 3 or 4 or 5 people.

murphaph

Then feel free to make some suggestions yourselves! I don't claim to be all knowing...but what I do know is that the rental sector in Ireland is broken on several levels and only the cowboys on both sides benefit from this brokenness.

A head tenant is commonplace here in Germany. Student wants to live in town A but can't find a room so he rents whole flat and starts a flatshare himself. It's not the only way...but we'd need to roll back the banning of bedsits to allow landlords to rent individual rooms out directly to tenants. There are solutions people, not just problems. Other countries have functioning rental sectors that are fair to all sides.

murphaph

murphaph wrote: »

Then feel free to make some suggestions yourselves! I don't claim to be all knowing...but what I do know is that the rental sector in Ireland is broken on several levels and only the cowboys on both sides benefit from this brokenness.

A head tenant is commonplace here in Germany. Student wants to live in town A but can't find a room so he rents whole flat and starts a flatshare himself. It's not the only way...but we'd need to roll back the banning of bedsits to allow landlords to rent individual rooms out directly to tenants. There are solutions people, not just problems. Other countries have functioning rental sectors that are fair to all sides.

To be honest I think the situation in my place works really well. Essentially the rooms are rented out individually directly to each housemate but we don't bother with any paper work.

Also when I say turn over of people it's a slow turnover. For instance I moved in just over a year ago, since then person here the longest moved and another moved in and the third person has been here longer than me also so probably a change of a person a year maybe. I don't think any of us would be willing to sign up to anything locking us into the house though like being the head house mate, I certainly wouldn't as if I was getting tied in for a year I'd be looking for my own place.

It also has the advantage that the LL doesn't expect two housemates to make up the rent if the third room is vacant (it's happened in the past another housemate told me where a room was vacant for a month here and there between people). You are responsible for your own rent.

murphaph

Chaim Purple Sleepwalker wrote: »

To be honest I think the situation in my place works really well. Essentially the rooms are rented out individually directly to each housemate but we don't bother with any paper work.

The question is...is this even legal since bedsits were outlawed? What is the difference between a bedsit with shared bathroom and renting rooms in a house with a shared bathroom? It should be legal, but is it any more?

The_Morrigan

murphaph wrote: »

The question is...is this even legal since bedsits were outlawed? What is the difference between a bedsit with shared bathroom and renting rooms in a house with a shared bathroom? It should be legal, but is it any more?

You are comparing apples and oranges there murphaph.

You get a lot of people renting a room in a house, but coming in at different stages; replacing the original tenants of a lease and their successors. However, it will more than likely all tie back to an original lease agreement signed by those who have moved on. In this case, the landlord should really be updating the lease agreements via assignment agreements or drawing up a new lease to ensure the existing tenants are on the agreement.

You will also have landlords who rent rooms on an individual basis to students, so they can come and go as they please within the common areas of the property (typically used in student towns).

Bedsits are standalone units that tend to have cooking facilities in each unit, but a shared bathroom and laundry facilities in various other parts of the house. They don't have a communal living area like a kitchen, dining room, sitting room. They are not intended for interaction with the other occupants of the property.

murphaph

What makes a bedsit illegal now though? Is it not the shared toilets?

The_Morrigan

murphaph wrote: »

What makes a bedsit illegal now though? Is it not the shared toilets?

They didn't meet the minimum requirements of a rental property.

Details of minimum standards

For each apartment, flat or house being rented as a separate unit, the landlord must ensure that the rental property is in a proper state of structural repair. The Regulations require the landlord to maintain the property in a sound state, inside and out. They specify that roofs, roofing tiles, slates, windows, floors, ceilings, walls, stairs, doors, skirting boards, fascias, tiles on any floor, ceiling and wall, gutters, down pipes, fittings, furnishings, gardens and common areas must be maintained in good condition and repair. They must not be defective due to dampness or otherwise.

The landlord must ensure that electricity or gas supplies are safe and in good repair, and that every room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting.

The landlord must provide:

A sink with hot and cold water
A separate room, for the exclusive use of each rented unit, with a toilet, a washbasin and a fixed bath or shower with hot and cold water
A fixed heating appliance in each room, which is capable of providing effective heating and which the tenant can control
Facilities for cooking and for the hygienic storage of food, for example, a 4-ring hob with oven and grill, fridge-freezer and microwave oven
Access to a washing machine
Access to a clothes-dryer if the rented unit does not have a private garden or yard
A fire blanket and smoke alarms
Access to vermin-proof and pest-proof refuse storage facilities
In multi-unit buildings, the landlord must provide each unit with a mains-wired smoke alarm; a fire blanket; and an emergency evacuation plan. There must also be emergency lighting in common areas.

Grandpa Hassan

"A separate room, for the exclusive use of each rented unit, with a toilet, a washbasin and a fixed bath or shower with hot and cold water"

Murphaph is referring to this section I guess. If you assume that each room is a separate 'rented unit' if rented individually, then each should theoretically have a separate bathroom. But to call a shared house, with separate communal areas for socialising, a bedsit is just not common sense.

Personally, I think we get carried away with the anecdotes that we read on here and other places, and extend them to the whole sector. Through my renting life, before I bought, I never had any problem (both renting rooms and renting apartments) and I genuinely don't know anyone who did. There is a price issue for sure, but that is primarily a supply demand thing, not a LL / tenant thing.

A strengthened and speeded up PRTB, ability to evict non paying tenants, LL and tenant registers, independent deposit holding schemes, independent inventory etc etc (all talked about on here from time to time) would result in a functioning rental sector IMO, if the supply demand dynamic was balanced. A sweeping change such as outlawing renting by the room is not necessary

murphaph

I am not in favour of outlawing renting by the room..I'm just wondering is it strictly legal any more. The rooms are rented individually...the legislation says individual units need a toilet each (exclusive use).

I agree that if we implemented your suggestions it would clear up most problems.

asingrang

So is a landlord in such a high turnover house share on the hook for paying PRTB fees every time the tenants turn over?

If so at what point?
As each tenant moves in, or only when the head tenant moves out.

Can the LL get in trouble if they have rented a house, yet all the people registered with the PRTB have moved on and it is full of brand new people.

The_Morrigan

murphaph wrote: »

I am not in favour of outlawing renting by the room..I'm just wondering is it strictly legal any more. The rooms are rented individually...the legislation says individual units need a toilet each (exclusive use).

I agree that if we implemented your suggestions it would clear up most problems.

Renting a room in a shared house is not the same as renting a self contained unit. It is just that the property has multiple leases for each individual, but they have communal bathrooms and living areas. They also share the bills for the whole house.

asingrang

asingrang wrote: »

So is a landlord in such a high turnover house share on the hook for paying PRTB fees every time the tenants turn over?

If so at what point?
As each tenant moves in, or only when the head tenant moves out.

Can the LL get in trouble if they have rented a house, yet all the people registered with the PRTB have moved on and it is full of brand new people.

I'd be almost 100% sure nothing changes as far as PRTB is concerned when tenants change. I know in my last place the LL just said people moving out sorted new tenants he wouldn't have even know the names of all the people in the house.

In my current place I don't even know if the LL has my full name to be honest (well I may have put it down to appear on his account when my rent is paid, if so that's the only way). The only communication I've had is a quick call and two or three texts sorting bank details to pay the deposit and rent when I moved in. It's also up to moving out tenants to find the next tenant if possible.

sponsoredwalk

This was 400 a few months ago :mad:
http://www.daft.ie/lettings/85-south-circular-road-south-circular-road-dublin/1462147/

CatFromHue

sponsoredwalk wrote: »

This was 400 a few months ago :mad:
http://www.daft.ie/lettings/85-south-circular-road-south-circular-road-dublin/1462147/

First listed at the start of July for 550, a 150 increase in 5 weeks!

ted1

Chaim Purple Sleepwalker wrote: »

I'd be almost 100% sure nothing changes as far as PRTB is concerned when tenants change. I know in my last place the LL just said people moving out sorted new tenants he wouldn't have even know the names of all the people in the house.

Its 90 euro each time to register a new tenant.

hollypink

sponsoredwalk wrote: »

This was 400 a few months ago :mad:
http://www.daft.ie/lettings/85-south-circular-road-south-circular-road-dublin/1462147/

How is that suitable for 1-2 people? Apart from anything else, Isn't that a single bed?

Mr. Incognito

What a dump

Baby01032012

ted1 wrote: »

Its 90 euro each time to register a new tenant.

It's €90 each time to register a new tenancy. A tenant can be added to an existing tenancy with no cost. It's only a name change.

D3PO

OP your expectations are just totally unrealistic. You just think what you want accomadation wise should just fall into your lap.

€300 a month may be a large sum of money to you but in the scheme of things its a paltry amount and you need a serious reality adjustment here. I read about half this thread and all I see form you are justifications as to why you need a place for this price in the city centre and why you must live on your own.

The facts are you cant afford what you want so you need to get a reality check and make the necessary adjustments.

So you either go and share accomadation. If you need a quiet place to study then you need to go to the library or elsewhere. Thats a sacrafice you have to make rather than moaning.

Or you need to move out of the city and either commute and if the cost of commuting on public transport is prohibitive then you need to go buy a cheap bike and cycle ot likewise.

Rather than building roadblocks and whinging on here why dont you try and overcome the obsticles ?

Prime example of a Celtic Tiger cub, you expect everything on a plate and are totally adverse to actually sacraficing to tailor your situation to reality.

Kenno90

Interesting Rental Report made by Daft for Q2 of 2014

Lux23

I've just received notice to leave my apartment, I'm out of work so I'm probably going to have to register as homeless. I've always paid my rent on time but the landlady is refurbishing and then leading the place at a much higher rate. I've had a look around and I can't get anywhere that is suitable. It's insane.

Eldarion

Lux23 wrote: »

I've just received notice to leave my apartment, I'm out of work so I'm probably going to have to register as homeless. I've always paid my rent on time but the landlady is refurbishing and then leading the place at a much higher rate. I've had a look around and I can't get anywhere that is suitable. It's insane.

So continue paying rent in another accommodation. You may need to reassess your search criteria but registering homeless seems a little extreme.

Lux23

Eldarion wrote: »

So continue paying rent in another accommodation. You may need to reassess your search criteria but registering homeless seems a little extreme.

Not really. They won't give me back my deposit until I vacate the flat so I don't have money to put down a deposit on somewhere else. Where will I get the deposit from? And what landlord would let you move in without paying one?

Idbatterim

In relation to the bedsits ban due to the bathroom situation. Could the owner of these buildings not have simply converted 1 flat into several bathrooms, thus all bedsits would have their own bathroom, maybe on a different floor etc, but their own bathroom non the less... How many bedsits have been taken off the market? would this have gone ahead if rents were exploding like they have been over the past few months? Hey you cant make a choice to live in a bedsit with a shared bedroom, but you can live out of a grey bin or commute for hours a day! This nanny state is beyond a joke! Rules made by those that are far removed from bedsit world...