Short term apartment rental

Some_randomer

I own a 2 bed apartment in Dublin 8 that I've been renting out on a short term basis on Airbnb, mainly because I need the apartment myself for part of the year and short term rental suits me.

I recently received a letter from the management company saying that short term lets are in breach of the lease and are prohibited.

They highlighted this clause in the lease:

"The Demised premises being an apartment the Lessee shall not use the premises or any part thereof for any illegal or immoral purpose nor allow any trade or business to be carried on there nor any boarders or lodgers to be taken but shall use the premises for the purpose of a single, private or private and professional residence only".

They go on to say:

"This clause specifically prohibits us of the apartments for business purposes. It further prohibits any boarders or lodgers. The plain meaning of this would prevent owners from renting out a room whether through Airbnb or otherwise. Anyone renting a property under Airbnb is not using it as their private residence."

They then say anyone renting their property for short term lets would be issued with a warning letter regarding breaches of the Lease, and if necessary they would bring court proceedings to force compliance with the Lease. They would also make a complaint to the local authority so that enforcement action can be taken in relation to the breach of planning.

So are they 100% correct in this, and I have to stop short term rentals? I read that Dublin city council haven't taken a position on short term rentals and were reluctant to get involved in policing this whole area.

Graham

The Department of Housing have recently issued guidelines to all local authorities clarifying the position:

http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/circular_pl10_aph3_2017.pdf

It's probably to soon to be able to say with any certainty what DCC are going to do but it sounds like your management company are talking about enforcing the terms of your lease either way.

antoinolachtnai

Well you are certainly in breach of your lease by the sounds of it. You are probably in breach of planning too. It seems to me you might also be liable for rates.

mille100piedi

I don't understand how you are not permitted to take a lodger

Mrs OBumble

mille100piedi wrote: »

I don't understand how you are not permitted to take a lodger

It's a condition of the lease, which the OP signed
up to when s/he purchaded.

What most apartment owners don't realise is that they don't actually own an apartment - they just own a lease which lets them live there.

In some other countries, no lodgers is a common condition of such leases.

mille100piedi

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

It's a condition of the lease, which the OP signed
up to when s/he purchaded.

What most apartment owners don't realise is that they don't actually own an apartment - they just own a lease which lets them live there.

In some other countries, no lodgers is a common condition of such leases.

I think the management company is talking about only short term, for sure a landlord can rent for long term to lodgers or tenants.

LiamoSail

Some_randomer wrote: »

I

They highlighted this clause in the lease:

"The Demised premises being an apartment the Lessee shall not use the premises or any part thereof for any illegal or immoral purpose nor allow any trade or business to be carried on there nor any boarders or lodgers to be taken but shall use the premises for the purpose of a single, private or private and professional residence only".

They go on to say:

"This clause specifically prohibits us of the apartments for business purposes. It further prohibits any boarders or lodgers. The plain meaning of this would prevent owners from renting out a room whether through Airbnb or otherwise. Anyone renting a property under Airbnb is not using it as their private residence."
.

Nothing in that clause refers specifically to short term letting. If it is considered that an owner letting his/her apartment on a short term basis is a business purpose, then so too, by their definition, is an owner letting his/her apartment on a long term basis

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

In some other countries, no lodgers is a common condition of such leases.

This sounds like nonsense. So you buy an apartment and you are saying only you can live there? If you can't have a lodger then you can't move in a partner as they are the same thing essentially: just another person living there.

P. Breathnach

If the management company seek to interpret the wording of the lease as prohibiting short-term or occasional lettings, then it looks to me as if longer-term lettings would be caught in the same net.

Some_randomer

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like the only option is to put it back on the market and rent long term. However this makes me pretty nervous considering what tenants can get away with, for example if they just stop paying the rent, change the locks etc.

I know most tenants are probably fine but something like this could happen. What protection do LLs have if a tenant stops paying the rent? From what I've read the LL has to chase them through the courts which could potentially take several months.

Does anyone have any experience of this, and is there any way to protect against something like this happening?

mille100piedi

I usually rent for 4 max 6 months, I usually take foreign post graduate students that come to Dublin to attend university/college

Mrs OBumble

Virginia Helpful Equalizer wrote: »

This sounds like nonsense. So you buy an apartment and you are saying only you can live there? If you can't have a lodger then you can't move in a partner as they are the same thing essentially: just another person living there.

Yes.

Some apartments have conditions like that. I've even seen some which say that the management company has to approve all purchasers.

K.Flyer

Some management companies are getting a pain in their rear ends receiving complaints from owners and long term tenants about apartments being used for AirBnB.
More often than not its to do with noise and disruption during quiet hours, followed up by AirBnBers calling to the adjoining apartments to find out how to operate something, or where transport / shops are.
One fed up individual I know had someone knock on their door at 11.00pm to be asked by the AirBnB guest next door if they could connect onto his WiFi.