renting a small one bed apartment 39 sq.m

kodaline78

Hi All,

I am currently looking to rent a one bed apartment in Galway city.I have viewed a number of them in the last few weeks. I would appreciate advice on one apartment in particular. It is 39 SQ.M or 415 sq ft in size and is available for 650 euro per month. Also the Landlord is offering at an extra cost of 100 per month

1. Electricity including heating and hot water, 2 virgin media broadband ,
3. Digimax TV and 4. Bins. The only utility not covered is the cooker which uses butane gas and the barrel is over half full. While the apartment is small i cant afford the 800 per month that an average one bed apartment costs in the current rental market. While the kitchen/ living room is small the double bedroom is a reasonable size along with the bathroom which is spacious. It also has a separate washing machine and dryer. It uses storage heaters for heating which are quite heavy on electricity but this covered by the 100 per month for the bills.

Regards kodaline78:)

Subtle

Bargain is what I'm thinking. You could well be overpaying during warm summer months but you'll have no hassle with havibg to change over bills to your name or paying these separately. And if you ever leave, then you don't have to worry about the landlord being 'slow' to change the electricity account back to their name!!

4ensic15

It sounds like a scam. Do not pay over any money until you have met the landlord, checked that the keys work and satisfy yourself that you are the only one who is renting the unit.

Subtle

4ensic15 wrote: »

It sounds like a scam. Do not pay over any money until you have met the landlord, checked that the keys work and satisfy yourself that you are the only one who is renting the unit.

This is a strange thread... OP, what exactly is the purpose of it or your question?

I'm starting to wonder if you're the landlord in question as you seem to give a lot of unnecessary details on the property??? Anyway I looked at Daft and you'd be lucky to get a 1 bedroom apartment for under €1k, let alone €800, so if you are genuinely looking for a place then what you've found is exceptionally cheap.

dennyk

kodaline78 wrote: »

The only utility not covered is the cooker which uses butane gas and the barrel is over half full.

A butane cooker in an apartment? Is this a proper indoor stove, or is it a camping cooker of some sort that the landlord's rigged up? The latter may not be safe to use indoors, and even the former could be an issue if there isn't proper ventilation in the kitchen, which by the sound of things could be the case, if it's a hacked-together poorly subdivided flat of some sort. Also, does the stove have four burners and an oven? If not, it doesn't meet minimum standards. Either way, I'd make very sure to test your CO detector on a regular basis (assuming you even have one; it's required by law these days, but that doesn't mean it'll actually be provided...).

I'd also second 4ensic15's advice to be wary of a scam or other shady goings-on. Even assuming you meet the landlord and everything seems OK, make sure you get a proper written lease agreement of some sort (doesn't have to be a fixed term, just something to show you are the tenant and the commencement date of the tenancy) and make sure to demand a rent book and receipts for your rent payments, especially if the landlord insists you pay in cash. If this is an illegal rental, your tenancy won't be registered with the RTB, so you'll want to have as much evidence as possible of the terms of your tenancy should any disputes arise later. Also, take lots of photos of the condition of the place before moving in, especially any pre-existing damage/wear/problems, and make sure you back them up somewhere safe, and do the same when you eventually move out, so that you have evidence in case the landlord tries to withhold your deposit for bogus reasons.

Graces7

dennyk wrote: »

A butane cooker in an apartment? Is this a proper indoor stove, or is it a camping cooker of some sort that the landlord's rigged up? The latter may not be safe to use indoors, and even the former could be an issue if there isn't proper ventilation in the kitchen, which by the sound of things could be the case, if it's a hacked-together poorly subdivided flat of some sort. Also, does the stove have four burners and an oven? If not, it doesn't meet minimum standards. Either way, I'd make very sure to test your CO detector on a regular basis (assuming you even have one; it's required by law these days, but that doesn't mean it'll actually be provided...).

I'd also second 4ensic15's advice to be wary of a scam or other shady goings-on. Even assuming you meet the landlord and everything seems OK, make sure you get a proper written lease agreement of some sort (doesn't have to be a fixed term, just something to show you are the tenant and the commencement date of the ten ancy) and make sure to demand a rent book and receipts for your rent
payments, especially if the landlord insists you pay in cash. If this is an illegal rental, your tenancy won't be registered with the RTB, so you'll want to have as much evidence as possible of the terms of your tenancy should any disputes arise later. Also, take lots of photos of the condition of the place before moving in, especially any pre-existing damage/wear/problems, and make sure you back them up somewhere safe, and do the same when you eventually move out, so that you have evidence in case the landlord tries to withhold your deposit for bogus reasons.

Bottled gas; cylinder now has to be outside and installed and connected by a registered gas engineer. Not sure if thi s is retrospective