Room in landlords house

Yes I would, if it suited me otherwise.

Remember, no notice means you don't have to give notice when you're ready to leave, either.

My personal take on it is if it feels dodgy walk away

If you really want it, make sure you understand what you're getting into.

I had situation like that myself though that worked out ok. The guy was living abroad and hardly ever used the place himself, I never actually met him.

But again be cautious and ask questions if you're not sure.

I don't see what the problem is tbh. What do you mean - it looks like he's residing there and he doesn't use the house/room at all. Did the owner say they are away a lot or is this information in an ad for a room to let?

Plenty of reasons a house owner might not be there all the time, maybe they work in a different part of the country or abroad or as another poster said, maybe he stays with his partner, maybe he's a carer for elderly parents, lots of possibilities.

I don't see why any house owner would even consider renting their entire house if it's their home/primary residence especially with the current rules and the more restrictive rules about unlimited tenancies coming soon.

No tax avoidance for a home owner availing of the rent-a-room scheme - it is perfectly legal.

There's no lease for licencees.

This sounds like an ideal test case for the RTB and I know that revenue would be very interested. The OP could be a licencee with zero rights or could be a tenant with their rights illegally with held by the landlord fraudulently availing of the rent a room tax break scheme.

Ask the letting agent whether you’d be a tenant or a licencee. It sounds as though you *should* be a tenant in those circumstances because the LL isn’t living there but it also sounds like he’s trying to get around the rules (and taxes) by keeping a room for himself.

I think just the opposite: it's quite possible that LL is making sure that he has somewhere to sleep when he comes home every so often on leave (some posting type jobs have surprisingly many trips home, and there's also 4 weeks a year of AL) - and also when his overseas job ends. Or even that he just wants to store some stuff within a locked room in the house that housemates don't have access to.

Could be the case. I’ve seen people on here suggesting that letting a house by room is a way of avoiding giving tenants their rights and of avoiding tax. May not be what’s happening here, which is why I suggested checking with the agent whether o/p would be a tenant or a licencee

@Del2005 wrote:

This. It's not a "you should walk away" scenario provided that you're aware of what you're going into.

I think in the situation described, provided that someone isn't an asshole they're unlikely to find themselves out on the street overnight. The most likely scenario is that the landlord will one day signal that he is coming home permanently and wants his house back. In which case everyone will likely get a few weeks' notice.

Just wondering about a notice period for this type of situation if the landlord wishes to move back into the house and occupy all room as opposed to just the one that they 'keep'. Im guessing minimal and that there is no recourse?

There could be recourse if the residents go to the rtb and can prove that the landlord didn't live there, if they've been there for more than 6 months.

That is a massive assumption to make, can you back it up with legislation or cases?

Well RTB is in the link, but it is just some words on a website giving examples of what could be a licence, not a stated position.

As I remember, this explanation appeared after the cases involving college accommodation and in any case does not mention retaining a room.

It is perfectly possible for courts/tribunals to determine that what is ostensibly documented as a licence is in fact a tenancy.

Note that you cannot have a lease without exclusivity of possession though.

Same here, no problem pointing out stupidity and hypocrisy 😂

https://www.rtb.ie/documents/TR168-2011/TR168-2011-DR92-2011Report.pdf

Now I am providing this against my better judgement, unless you are a solicitor, I don't want to hear your analysis.

But common sense should be enough here, what you posted very much looks like you are saying holding a room is significant in some way, which is not the case, otherwise no sane landlord would rent out the entire house when we can retain a room and charge what we like for the others.

The exemption for properties where the landlord resides is in the legislation, so that is perfectly clear.

Jesus why do you care about the landlords tax dealings nothing to do with you, I’ve been in this situation years ago, it was a different time then but it was the best shared house I ever lived in (and the last) giant redbrick on the sea front sharing with 3 others including the landlord who stayed maybe once every two weeks all the rooms were en-suite with tvs, so no bones of contention in the sitting room.

if thats the kind of situation jump at it, although back then I never thought of staying in a place for more than a year to a year and a half, these days I think people don’t move as much