Digs -What's the norm?

yellow hen

Just wondering if anyone on here has experience as either a landlord or a tenant in digs accomodation? We are planning to let a room for the first time this year. I'm sort of planning it based on my experiences about 20years ago so wouldn't mind some advice. We're planning on basing it on 5 nights (Sun-Thurs) with breakfast and dinner from Mon-Thur. My questions are:

Are the students generally allowed entry to the home during the day or is it a case of you must be gone by 10am and can't return before 5pm?
Are visitors generally allowed?
Are there curfews or is that very unfair?
Do you allow them to watch tv in the family living room or is providing a tv in their bedroom ok?
If offering a twin room, is it difficult to find two students to share a space having not met previously?

We're also finding it very difficult to find rates. Based on the above and also including the fact that it's a brand new furnished room with ensuite, I think €100 per person per week is fair. Is it?

I want to be fair and let the students/tenants feel comfortable in the space that they're paying good money for but this is also our home so I don't want it abused.

Subcomandante Marcos

The idea of not allowing them to enter the house between 10am and 5pm is ludicrous and imposing a curfew on an adult is a stupid idea. If they're there Sunday - Friday, surely you'd include breakfast on the Friday too?


You seem to basically want to charge some poor sod a few hundred a month for the pleasure of being locked in a room from 5pm to 10am and staying out of it form 10-5.

University student's don't have a 9-5 schedule. they might have a lecture at 8am and nothing again until 4, do you expect them to sit in a cafe or library all day? Why not just give them a key and let them come and go as they please like a normal person.

yellow hen

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

The idea of not allowing them to enter the house between 10am and 5pm is ludicrous and imposing a curfew on an adult is a stupid idea. If they're there Sunday - Friday, surely you'd include breakfast on the Friday too?


You seem to basically want to charge some poor sod a few hundred a month for the pleasure of being locked in a room from 5pm to 10am and staying out of it form 10-5.

University student's don't have a 9-5 schedule. they might have a lecture at 8am and nothing again until 4, do you expect them to sit in a cafe or library all day? Why not just give them a key and let them come and go as they please like a normal person.

I don't think I said anywhere that I 'want' to impose the above conditions on any student. What I want to know is what is the norm. What I stated in my first post, is what we've been told so far. As it happens, I don't particularly have a problem with allowing them live within reason on our home which would include coming and going as they need. I want to see all the pros and cons of doing so though.

wirelessdude01

Give them a key and they can come and go as they please. TV in their room, meals are at the same time everyday and if they aren't going to be home for dinner they have to let you know minimum of an hour in advance. Rules around guests during the day/overnight. Facility to allow them stay some weekend's around exam times and rate for this agreed at time of moving in.

yellow hen

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Give them a key and they can come and go as they please. TV in their room, meals are at the same time everyday and if they aren't going to be home for dinner they have to let you know minimum of an hour in advance. Rules around guests during the day/overnight. Facility to allow them stay some weekend's around exam times and rate for this agreed at time of moving in.

I think all of that is very reasonable. Thanks.

errlloyd

OP are you going to allow them access to laundry facilities? It's worth thinking about. I don't know what the norm is, my parents provide digs and just do a load of laundry per person per week, but I think that's above the norm.

Also, I think 100 a week for a twin room may be a steep unless they have good access to another space. Just I know people in digs spend a lot of time in their rooms, and I think that sharing with someone would put a lot of pressure on that.