Landlord wants €600 deposit and €600 in advance rent

allthedoyles

A friend is looking at rented accomodation at the moment .

Has looked at a suitable house , but the landlord wants €600 deposit now and €600 rent in advance now . ( total € 1,200 )

Is there any way around this ?

ArtSmart

LOL.

Max Power1

Standard procedure?

rcdk1

What is the monthly rent? If the rent is €600/month, then a month's rent for the deposit and a month's rent in advance is fairly standard and not unreasonable.

Mr. Presentable

As Max says, that's normal. Consider the LL's position, taking on a stranger who might wreck the place, or not pay their rent.

This has been the norm in any place I've rented.

allthedoyles

ArtSmart wrote: »

LOL.

Thanks for answers lads , - Its not funny when a guy is trying to come up with €1,200 in advance of renting.

But if it is standard procedure , then I will pass this on .

Apparently the reasoning behind the € 600 rent in advance is because if the tenant leaves without notice the landlord is covered , whereas with a deposit €600 , the tenant has a months free rent at the end of contract . ( whenever that happens )

smelltheglove

The deposit is not a months free rent at the end of lease, the deposit is to cover the landloed for any damage, if no damage is done then the deposit is returned.

sunflower27

Apologies, meant to start new thread.

silja

The months rent is because rent is always paid in advance
The deposit is to cover damage done by the tenant, or bills left outstanding when tenant moves out. Deposit should be given back in full when tenant moves out, assuming no issues. Deposit is not allowed to be used as last months rent.

allthedoyles

Just to let you all know that I was quite disappointed that no-one on boards could offer a way around the €600 advance rent and €600 deposit .( total € 1,200 advance to Landlord )

However , I did also seek professional advice , and it was suggested that I have a chat with the LL and ask if he would be agree-able to receive the deposit in monthly instalments .

He duly agreed , and an amount has been agreed thats suits my friend .

athtrasna

allthedoyles wrote: »

Just to let you all know that I was quite disappointed that no-one on boards could offer a way around the €600 advance rent and €600 deposit .( total € 1,200 advance to Landlord )

People pointed out that it was standard practice in this country to pay a deposit of one month's rent, and rent is always payable in advance so in order to rent you do generally need the equivalent of two months rent in advance. In some countries the deposit is several months rent as a deposit plus rent in advance.

Only an individual landlord could negotiate any difference to the norm. People on this forum can only advise of their own experiences.

NewFrockTuesday

allthedoyles wrote: »

Just to let you all know that I was quite disappointed that no-one on boards could offer a way around the €600 advance rent and €600 deposit .( total € 1,200 advance to Landlord )

However , I did also seek professional advice , and it was suggested that I have a chat with the LL and ask if he would be agree-able to receive the deposit in monthly instalments .

He duly agreed , and an amount has been agreed thats suits my friend .

We are very very sorry and will ty to do better next time.

djmcr

NewFrockTuesday wrote: »

We are very very sorry and will ty to do better next time.

I'm hanging my head in shame:(:(:(

tHE vAGGABOND

When I lived in the UK it was 6 weeks in advance, and 6 week deposit - not a month

TBH If I was renting somewhere and someone came to me asking to reduce the deposit I would run a mile - huge red flags as if you did trash the place [not saying you will or would, but if] 300 or whatever would hardly cover the cleaning let alone fixing stuff

Bob Z

allthedoyles wrote: »

A friend is looking at rented accomodation at the moment .

Has looked at a suitable house , but the landlord wants €600 deposit now and €600 rent in advance now . ( total € 1,200 )

Is there any way around this ?

Have a word with the landlord and try to get him to reduce to to a deposit of 600 instead. Some landlords just want a months deposit. 1200 euro is a lot of money to entrust to someone

Im surprised no one on here suggested that to you

Plazaman

Bob Z wrote: »

Have a word with the landlord and try to get him to reduce to to a deposit of 600 instead. Some landlords just want a months deposit. 1200 euro is a lot of money to entrust to someone

Im surprised no one on here suggested that to you

Alternatively maybe ask the Landlord if the deposit could be paid in instalments, he may agree. I can't believe i'm the only one to come up with this suggestion.......


...damn it, a Johnny Come Lately again !!!!

lainey316

Bob Z wrote: »

Have a word with the landlord and try to get him to reduce to to a deposit of 600 instead. Some landlords just want a months deposit. 1200 euro is a lot of money to entrust to someone

Im surprised no one on here suggested that to you

But the deposit was €600, and so only €600 was entrusted. The other €600 was the rent, i.e. payment for the service to be received, just paid in advance. Like 99.9% of private rental agreements in this country.

NewFrockTuesday

lainey316 wrote: »

But the deposit was €600, and so only €600 was entrusted. The other €600 was the rent, i.e. payment for the service to be received, just paid in advance. Like 99.9% of private rental agreements in this country.

Now lainey, youre not being helpful




I knowSMC, neither am I


OP, your friend is being asked for the standard measure. Whats the problem? If he cant afford to pay it, then stay at home until he can. A deposit is normal, a month in advance is....normal. Is not IF this is standard procedure, it IS standard procedure. Its not funny for anybody trying to come up with deposits and rent. He might be your friend, but hes no different to anybody else trying to get their first rented place on their own.

ztoical

Out of interest is your friend expecting the deposit to be paid back in full when they move out or are they going to let the LL pay it back in instalments?

allthedoyles

My friend is delighted that the LL has agreed to accept the damage deposit over a number of months .

After all , the contract is been signed for a year , so it makes sense to accept the damage deposit over a number of months . - Why pay this deposit instantly when you are signing a 12 month term .

So happy days to both LL and my friend .

The LL has his €600 rent in advance plus €600 deposit over a number of months , and the LL also has genuine references .

Its a win win situation for the LL , - he now has someone that is going to contribute towards his mortgage for the next 12 months

Bob Z

allthedoyles wrote: »

My friend is delighted that the LL has agreed to accept the damage deposit over a number of months .

After all , the contract is been signed for a year , so it makes sense to accept the damage deposit over a number of months . - Why pay this deposit instantly when you are signing a 12 month term .

So happy days to both LL and my friend .

The LL has his €600 rent in advance plus €600 deposit over a number of months , and the LL also has genuine references .

Its a win win situation for the LL , - he now has someone that is going to contribute towards his mortgage for the next 12 months

1200 is a lot to give someone. I hope you landlord is trustworthy

allthedoyles

Its actually a very simple transaction ...........On a specific date my friend hands over €600 and on the same date the landlord hands over keys of house .

Hang on a minute though ...............My friend needs to get a reference from landlord to ensure he is trustworthy .

Victor

ArtSmart wrote: »

LOL.

As little bit more helpful please.

djmcr

Victor wrote: »

As little bit more helpful please.

Initially I thought this was a piss take myself as paying the deposit when you rent is the norm in this country so I can understand ArtSmart's comment

Ray Palmer

allthedoyles wrote: »

Its a win win situation for the LL , - he now has someone that is going to contribute towards his mortgage for the next 12 months

No it is not win win. The LL is taking a risk that while the deposit builds up your friend doesn't stop paying the rent nor does any damage. THe Deposit system is very standard and has quite of logic it to it. Taking deposit by installments is an extremely risky idea.
It is essentially defeating the whole purpose of the deposit.

mathie

Bob Z wrote: »

1200 is a lot to give someone. I hope you landlord is trustworthy

A property is a lot to give someone. I hope your friend is trustworthy.

allthedoyles

djmcr wrote: »

Initially I thought this was a piss take myself as paying the deposit when you rent is the norm in this country so I can understand ArtSmart's comment

Pi$$-takes are for the after-hours forum.

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

When someone is starting out on the bottom rung of the ladder , it does'nt matter whether they are renting or buying , it is a difficult time either way .

My friend was looking for flexabilty and mutual agreement , and he has received both from this LL.

MagicMarker

allthedoyles wrote: »

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

No, it's obvious most of the posters in this thread are aware of the global standard that is paying a deposit and rent up front.

lainey316

OP, I'm not a landlord, but I am in my 6th rental agreement and that has been teh situation in every single one of them - deposit + one month's rent up front. Of all my friends who are still renting, and those who previously rented, I know one situation where this was not the case & they worked out a deal like your friend.

Look, I'm glad your friend was able to work things out to suit them, but it is not the norm. It is not the standard approach. The posters here are not out to upset you or make things difficult for your friend or to be unhelpful - they are describing the norm, what happens in 99% of private rental agreements. Maybe 99.9%.

WIZE

allthedoyles wrote: »

Pi$$-takes are for the after-hours forum.

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

When someone is starting out on the bottom rung of the ladder , it does'nt matter whether they are renting or buying , it is a difficult time either way .

My friend was looking for flexabilty and mutual agreement , and he has received both from this LL.

So your friend will be paying 650 a month now providing they stay the next twelve months . Has your friend agreed to pay a lump sum of whatever is owed on the deposit if they leave early

Oh_Noes

allthedoyles wrote: »

Pi$$-takes are for the after-hours forum.

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

When someone is starting out on the bottom rung of the ladder , it does'nt matter whether they are renting or buying , it is a difficult time either way .

My friend was looking for flexabilty and mutual agreement , and he has received both from this LL.

I'm not a landlord and I agreed with the sentiments in the above threads too. It honestly is standard practice, I know this from living in probably 10 different rental premises. You will see over time that what the landlord did for your friend isn't at all common and quite generous on behalf of the landlord. If your friend breaks the lease and doesn't pay rent next month as well as causing damage to the place, the landlord is up sh1t creek without a paddle. I'm sure your friend isn't like that but the landlord is just covering himself.

€1200 is indeed a lot to fork out in a lump but the rent is €600 and that will have to be paid every month. Rent/mortgage is usually a person's largest monthly expenditure. The deposit is only once off and you'll get it back if you leave the place how you found it.

ztoical

OP I'm not a landlord and have rented in several countries for near 14 years now and trust me one month is nothing compared to most countries. Currently living in the uk were they expect 6 to 8 weeks worth of rent as deposit...no ifs or buts and you'd be very hard going to find a decent LL here that doesn't look for at least 6 weeks...frankly I wouldn't be keen on renting from someone who doesn't follow standard procedure, in my experience only slumlords and cowboy landlords don't follow standard procedure.

dudara

Several months rent in advance plus a hefty deposit is common in the Netherlands.

Putting together the money for your first deposit and month's rent is one of the big adult steps that you have to take in your life.

kippy

allthedoyles wrote: »

Pi$$-takes are for the after-hours forum.

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

When someone is starting out on the bottom rung of the ladder , it does'nt matter whether they are renting or buying , it is a difficult time either way .

My friend was looking for flexabilty and mutual agreement , and he has received both from this LL.

I'm not a landlord - never have been. Am a homeowner at present however rented from the ages of 17-26 odd (about 7 different places in different parts of the country. (never rented outside of here but have rented hotel rooms in many different countries)
The practice in all the houses I have rented have been the same - 1 months rent in advance + a months rent as a deposit (for damages and the like). Sometimes I signed a lease, sometimes not (different times), sometimes a verbal contract with a receipt for the payments received were enough.
Whenever I needed to move on, gave the landlord/main tenant a months notice, cleaned up the house/room, had the landlord around and got my deposit back. Fairly standard/straight forward transaction as far as all parties were concerned.
I was lucky with landlords perhaps, all were decent people, very fair. I respected them and their property they were fair to me.

Its difficult to come up with that kinda money always has been - but you should really only have to come up with a deposit once - the next house you get, the first deposit should pay for it once you got it back.

Fair play to your friend for negotiating, it is a renters market out there at the moment and negotiating rents etc is all part and parcel of the process.

I thought this was a p1$$ take thread as well being honest, but I suppose if it is you and your friends first experience of renting, I suppose the question you ask is serious enough.

Bob Z

allthedoyles wrote: »

Pi$$-takes are for the after-hours forum.

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

When someone is starting out on the bottom rung of the ladder , it does'nt matter whether they are renting or buying , it is a difficult time either way .

My friend was looking for flexabilty and mutual agreement , and he has received both from this LL.

In my own experience it the deposit is usally just one month's rent and i wouldnt pay any more but the other posters might live in different areas where the average deposit is higher

Its something you have to ask your friends or people living near by

djmcr

allthedoyles wrote: »

Pi$$-takes are for the after-hours forum.

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

When someone is starting out on the bottom rung of the ladder , it does'nt matter whether they are renting or buying , it is a difficult time either way .

My friend was looking for flexabilty and mutual agreement , and he has received both from this LL.

No offence was meant but if you had taken the time to do a search on this forum you would have seen countless number of threads re deposits for renting. I'm currently renting property myself and am definitely not landlord biased but landlords need to be able to have some sort of deposit to cover themselves from tenants doing damage to their properties or doing a runner

Zamboni

dudara wrote: »

Putting together the money for your first deposit and month's rent is one of the big adult steps that you have to take in your life.

+1

Treehouse72

Fair play OP. You showed everyone in this thread right and proper. Great job.

But that doesn't stop you from being ignorant - in the sense of both lack of knowledge and lack of manners - to an almost comical degree.

munchkin_utd

allthedoyles wrote: »

A friend is looking at rented accomodation at the moment .

Has looked at a suitable house , but the landlord wants €600 deposit now and €600 rent in advance now . ( total € 1,200 )

Is there any way around this ?

as other poster said, this would be way more abroad

Bog Standard in germany is 3 months rent (including expenses) as deposit.
Plus 2 months rent (no expenses but plus VAT) to the estate agent for his "help"
AND a month in advance rent.

So a 600 euro apt like yours would be 700(incl say €100 expenses)*3 deposit, plus 1400-ish for estate agent plus 700 rent(+xpenses) in advance!

So 4200 more or less for anyone in your situation just to get the keys to a 600 euro a month gaff!
You should thank your luck stars that ireland is such a CHEAP place to live!

Calina

allthedoyles wrote: »

Pi$$-takes are for the after-hours forum.

Its obvious that most of the posters in this thread are Landlords themselves , as the majority of answers leaned heavily in their favour .

When someone is starting out on the bottom rung of the ladder , it does'nt matter whether they are renting or buying , it is a difficult time either way .

My friend was looking for flexabilty and mutual agreement , and he has received both from this LL.

Then he is lucky and I hope he doesn't exploit that flexibility in a negative manner.

It is standard practice to provide one months rent in advance and one or two months rent as damage deposit. Normally there is no way around this except by individual negotiation. The expectation that anyone who points out that this is standard is a landlord because they are somehow taking the landlord's side is naive.