Renting out a room

foozzybear61

Because of financial difficulties I have decided to rent out about half my house near Blessington.
Small bedroom, largish studio area.small kitchen and bathroom. own separate meter one separate entrance (but also with a second hall area which presently I also need for access, this can be overcome with a bit of hassel for me )
Had an estate agent look it over and said It was worth 500-550 a month all I was hoping for was about 100e a week
but then started quoting me on BER certs -color schemes -landlord registration and fees.
Question to the group is it worth it to just to try and find a suitable cash tenant or go 100percent legitimate spend the extra money updating and hopefully achieve the bigger rent.?
Isint there a scheme to rent a room for 100e per week tax free, what conditions and checks come with the scheme .?

athtrasna

A cash tenant would be illegal.

Rent a room doesn't apply to separate entrance units.

cerastes

If it didnt have a seperate entrance, you could easily be renting rooms in your home. You dont have to pay tax up to 10k I believe, but are supposed to do a return, I dont think many people that do bring in some money that way do a return, probably because they are concerned about getting retroactively fcuked.
By renting it out as a let property and not being registered, you leave yourself open to being currently or in the near future being fcuked by the tenant if you either actually do something wrong, or they decide to fcuk you. The PRTB dont seem to be able to chase up existing cases of disputes between landlord/tenant/3rd parties, but I wouldn't take that €3000 bet myself.
The BER cert con, which takes little or no account of the real values of insulation of the specific case, but counts lightbulbs, which you pay for.
Add to that, the estate agent fees, for doing something you can do, vet people, if you havent done it before for this specific purpose, it's possible to learn, also doing it by way of renting rooms is better for a few specific reasons, ie if someone is a complete douche bag, you can throw them out with 24 hours notice (notice this applies when you rent rooms in your home), and because its your home, only you can know who will be better suited to live with as you would be closely sharing with them, and not an estate agent.
You will obviously have to have certain things you can compromise on and some things that are definite no's. If a tenant decides to screw you over (or has a legitimate concern), see above for PRTB, see elsewhere for waiting times. Colour schemes, well if its your home, then I think unless you have some outrageously bad taste, anything will do, existing neutral shades, generic as they may be should suit the job, maybe thats an estate agent trying to make you think they know what they are talking about. So long as its reasonably clean and fresh, or let the licencee decide, if they like it, ok, if they dont, they dont have to live there. I think functional and safe electrics, heating, ventilation are better selling points, unless it's black ceilings and pink walls or something else hideous?

Then there is doing tax returns and either paying for it or doing it yourself and paying tax on it, and the capital gains tax implication on renting your home, if it applies.

Or you could do away with the extra door or just have it like a back door or a side door, not undo the joint hall? which is extra work anyway, having both meters in your name, they could use meter x area generally so they felt they were paying an accurate representation of the bills and you could use meter y area generally so you know you are not paying someone elses use, then you'd be letting out rooms, and have to do none of that above, if you're living there, that seems perfectly legal.

johnnyskeleton

foozzybear61 wrote: »

Because of financial difficulties I have decided to rent out about half my house near Blessington.
Small bedroom, largish studio area.small kitchen and bathroom. own separate meter one separate entrance (but also with a second hall area which presently I also need for access, this can be overcome with a bit of hassel for me )
Had an estate agent look it over and said It was worth 500-550 a month all I was hoping for was about 100e a week
but then started quoting me on BER certs -color schemes -landlord registration and fees.
Question to the group is it worth it to just to try and find a suitable cash tenant or go 100percent legitimate spend the extra money updating and hopefully achieve the bigger rent.?
Isint there a scheme to rent a room for 100e per week tax free, what conditions and checks come with the scheme .?

Is not paying tax and not obeying the law an option nowadays? What an enlightened world we live in.

foozzybear61

that all seems like good advice The initial idea was to provide good sensible accomadation at a reasonable and affordable price..Going on what you say a tenant on rent allowance then would not realy be an option as I expect all regalations would have to be followed to the letter.
had hoped and still do to rent to someone like a mature single guy or maybe a separated parent on a budget who wants somewhere cheap.
Once I get some money coming in I can look at making some more upgrades till then ive spent my own budget and await the next move..
Got to be worth 100e , 20 mins to Tallaght /naas road ..5 mins into Blessington.

foozzybear61

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Is not paying tax and not obeying the law an option nowadays? What an enlightened world we live in.

The guy was just listing my options ,I'm an adult and can weigh up pros and cons.
Never had to consider sharing my home before but if I don't find another revenue stream Johnny I in turn will be homeless and peoples taxes can go to supporting me in a BnB

Don't rember Phil Hogan asking how I was when they put on the house tax /water charges septic tank charges carbon taxes BER regs .

Not ranting just saying how I feel .

doolox

Too much stacked against the homeowner and tax implications. Too visible and tax take too onerous. The government have dug themselves a deep hole regarding rental accomodation in this country. Now a lot of people are finding themselves homeless or paying very high rents so that landlords can get a return after they have paid their mortgages, repair bills, new furniture etc and kept everybody happy. After USC, PRSI and TAX paid by the landlord this of course is charged directly to the tenant but the government don't care.

Then they wonder why so many people are homeless.

In this wintry northern Isle people will DIE this winter because of government imbecility.

endacl

doolox wrote: »

In this wintry northern Isle

Where dafuq are you posting from?!?

cerastes

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Is not paying tax and not obeying the law an option nowadays? What an enlightened world we live in.

If the house which I understood from the OPs post is connected still through a hall, (but also has its own door), they say one separate entrance "(but also with a second hall area which presently I also need for access, this can be overcome with a bit of hassel for me", that to me suggests this property is connected up as one still, which the OP is thinking of blocking up.

Then there is nothing illegal in having the one property, where a licensee pays to use a room or rooms in the house, and it would be much less hassle then renting, which the govt has made a very difficult situation, not just for landlords, but for tenants, who rely on each other.
Id say if the meters (electric?), not sure what the heating situation is, but if meters are in the same name, its just extra standing charge, Id be looking into connecting them up as one or have the licensee to pay for the area that generally one meter covers, I'd still have a shared area.

Ive come across landlords that rent out houses and do so illegally, no one has any interest in them for the most part, its only if they get on the radar that it might become a problem, which dishonest landlords seem to manage to stay off, whereas if you are honest and above board you will be royally fcuked for it.

If this person is legitimately renting rooms in their home which is one unit, then there is nothing illegal, if its the same building and they live in it, then Id leave an existing door open or make a doorway.
Politicians, members of political parties, in Govt have found ways to not pay tax, take bribes, be investigated, not dealt with, while we are being screwed, if this person is on hard times and needs to make ends meet, lives in the house and its one unit, how is that wrong, or illegal??

cerastes

endacl wrote: »

Where dafuq are you posting from?!?

See Peterson projection, we are a northern isle and mostly cold, moderately so, but not known for being warm. We may not be Greenland, but we're far up north lad, ey up.

Nomis21

Keep in mind...

425 Euro a month is the total maximum rent in Wicklow for a rent allowance tenant renting the property on their own, if you want to go down that road. You can ask the tenant to make the rent allowance paid directly to yourself minus 30-32 Euro a week which they must pay you directly.

If they are sharing the property with you the limit is only 290 Euro per month.

The_Conductor

Word of warning folks- there will be no discussion of cash-in-hand, not making tax declarations, any manner of conducting transactions without paying due taxes etc. The OP has earned themselves one warning and one infraction on thread. If anyone goes down any of these directions with their posts- you will receive the due attentions of moderators- this is your one and only warning.

Regards,

The_Conductor

MouseTail

athtrasna wrote: »

A cash tenant would be illegal.

Rent a room doesn't apply to separate entrance units.

It does, as long as the unit is attached to, rather than adjacant to the main residence.

cerastes

foozzybear61 wrote: »

that all seems like good advice The initial idea was to provide good sensible accomadation at a reasonable and affordable price..Going on what you say a tenant on rent allowance then would not realy be an option as I expect all regalations would have to be followed to the letter.
had hoped and still do to rent to someone like a mature single guy or maybe a separated parent on a budget who wants somewhere cheap.
Once I get some money coming in I can look at making some more upgrades till then ive spent my own budget and await the next move..
Got to be worth 100e , 20 mins to Tallaght /naas road ..5 mins into Blessington.

100 per week, easily, Id have a look on daft or in papers/buy and sell if they still do that and compare, probably easily 100 or more, its your home, dont sell it short.
10k/52 is 192 per week, you couldnt earn more than that or you'd have to declare, to pay tax in a rent a room/s system, which I understand would be on the full amount then. All the paper filling and dealing with the HSE, now the SW, its just too much hassle and the conditions they apply, limits, reductions, etc but thats a personal decision. If it was a family situation, do you want to rent rooms in your home to someone with kids, will they have friends over etc or is the person you're looking for a single person, but then if they have kids?? these are considerations.
Still havent heard back why it would be not legit to do this just because there are two meters?
Its all perfectly acceptable for the higher ups to have dubious financial dealings in the order of tens or hundreds of thousands or more, but for the love of god if you are trying to make ends meet, by god we'll hammer you, so make sure you do it within the confines of the law or be screwed.

surpy

Op, contrary to much of the info on this thread, it is likely you can avail of rent a room relief up to 10k

4.2 Self-contained unit
It is not possible to let an entire residence because the room or rooms that are let must
form part of the residence and the residence must be occupied by the individual
receiving the rent as his/her sole or main residence. The room or rooms can comprise
a self-contained unit within the residence such as a basement flat or a converted
garage attached to the residence. However, a self-contained unit that is adjacent to the
residence but not actually attached to it cannot qualify for the relief.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/owning_a_home/home_owners/rent_a_room_scheme.html
http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/foi/s16/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-07/07-01-32.pdf?download=true

The_Morrigan

Please also be aware that the rent a room relief is considered an income if you are on social welfare your weekly payment will be reduced.

foozzybear61

Just started a CE scheme my understanding is that income derived from other sources will not affect this ..TRUE?FALSE

Also don't wont to land any other posters in difficulty with mods .so appricate the help and information supplied so far any other tips great too but be careful

It frustrated me that it appeared it was ok to rent out the space given to a battery fed hen for an exorbient rent
.but didn't want to allow you to provide decent living conditions to someone .
This has now been clarified ( I think)

Nomis21

There are no financial restrictions on a CE scheme. You could earn 10,000 Euro a week from other sources and still keep all your CE payment.

The_Morrigan

foozzybear61 wrote: »

Just started a CE scheme my understanding is that income derived from other sources will not affect this ..TRUE?FALSE

Also don't wont to land any other posters in difficulty with mods .so appricate the help and information supplied so far any other tips great too but be careful

It frustrated me that it appeared it was ok to rent out the space given to a battery fed hen for an exorbient rent
.but didn't want to allow you to provide decent living conditions to someone .
This has now been clarified ( I think)

Ask the social welfare before you decide to do any renting if the income has an impact. My JSA was stopped because I had a tenant handing over €450 a month despite having outgoings of over two grand. I was lucky I landed a job within a week or two of that letter.

Potatoeman

I work with someone that rented a room so they could save money for their wedding. All they did was complain. You really need to consider what having someone else there will be like if you are not use to sharing.

Rabbo

surpy wrote: »

Op, contrary to much of the info on this thread, it is likely you can avail of rent a room relief up to 10k



http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/owning_a_home/home_owners/rent_a_room_scheme.html
http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/foi/s16/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-07/07-01-32.pdf?download=true

Doesnt there have to be an internal connection between the house and flat, i.e. a door?

The_Conductor

Rabbo wrote: »

Doesnt there have to be an internal connection between the house and flat, i.e. a door?

Yes. If you separate the unit into a fully self contained unit, without access from the principle part of the residence- it becomes a property adjacent to the main property, and not part of the main property, and is no longer eligible under the scheme.

In short- don't separate it- unless you're willing to rent it out as an independent unit (as opposed to as part of the main dwelling- which it no longer is).

Rabbo

It seems quite vague. So , if you were to install a door between the two and lock from both sides you'd be covered under the regulations? I presume it wouldn't even have to be in a hallway?

The_Conductor

A locked door will normally suffice. If you block it up- its no longer considered part of the main dwelling, and as a self contained unit, is not considered for the rent-a-room scheme.

cerastes

surpy wrote: »

Op, contrary to much of the info on this thread, it is likely you can avail of rent a room relief up to 10k

4.2 Self-contained unit
It is not possible to let an entire residence because the room or rooms that are let must
form part of the residence and the residence must be occupied by the individual
receiving the rent as his/her sole or main residence. The room or rooms can comprise
a self-contained unit within the residence such as a basement flat or a converted
garage attached to the residence. However, a self-contained unit that is adjacent to the
residence but not actually attached to it cannot qualify for the relief.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/owning_a_home/home_owners/rent_a_room_scheme.html
http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/foi/s16/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-07/07-01-32.pdf?download=true

Cant open the second link,

The_Conductor wrote: »

Yes. If you separate the unit into a fully self contained unit, without access from the principle part of the residence- it becomes a property adjacent to the main property, and not part of the main property, and is no longer eligible under the scheme.

In short- don't separate it- unless you're willing to rent it out as an independent unit (as opposed to as part of the main dwelling- which it no longer is).

My reading from the extract by the poster above doesnt coincide with what you are saying.

I had thought rent a room had to be within the house, but the extract the other poster provided suggests otherwise, stating from their extract,
"can comprise a self-contained unit within the residence such as a basement flat or a converted garage attached to the residence."

Such a statement doesnt suggest that the rent a room scheme doesnt apply if the unit is self contained, attached to the house, but has to be connected by an internal access way, door or corridor?
Just that it can be self contained withing the residence, such as a flat.
Id thought that was a necessary thing, but now Im wondering.
Id keep a doorway if it exits OP, the above doesnt suggest one way or the other definitively, its vague, unless there is more to it, cant access that link.

The_Morrigan

I think the thought process was to allow for annexes, granny flats, converted garages and basement flats. I don't think it's permissible to sub divide a residence to create a multi unit property and have the landlord cheat the system by claiming it's under the rent a room scheme. Sure if that was permissible all the former bedsits and pre 63 flats wouldn't fall under the RTA.

cerastes

Potatoeman wrote: »

I work with someone that rented a room so they could save money for their wedding. All they did was complain. You really need to consider what having someone else there will be like if you are not use to sharing.

Who complained?
the person you worked with?
OR the licensee?

so in summary, keep a doorway or make a doorway but keep it locked

The_Conductor

cerastes wrote: »

so in summary, keep a doorway or make a doorway but keep it locked

Yes.