Unsure about property

mary_hayes

Hello
I went to see a bedsit to let yesterday.
It is a good size, with a communal bathroom out in the hall. It has everything in it, kettle, tv etc.
The landlord seems very involved in property and calls to collect the rent personally, letting herself in to the flat and checking everything is in order. she also opens the esb bill before leaving it in the flat. I'm not totally keen on this intrusion and am wondering if it is normal? I'm also not keen on the shared bathroom, although the property was very clean and had its own cleaner.
What do other people think?

stargazer 68

mary_hayes wrote: »

Hello
I'm not totally keen on this intrusion and am wondering if it is normal? I'm also not keen on the shared bathroom,

Well look for something else. I certainly wouldnt like a shared bathroom but thats just me

Zamboni

mary_hayes wrote: »

Hello
I went to see a bedsit to let yesterday.
It is a good size, with a communal bathroom out in the hall. It has everything in it, kettle, tv etc.
The landlord seems very involved in property and calls to collect the rent personally, letting herself in to the flat and checking everything is in order. she also opens the esb bill before leaving it in the flat. I'm not totally keen on this intrusion and am wondering if it is normal? I'm also not keen on the shared bathroom, although the property was very clean and had its own cleaner.
What do other people think?

You've just described hell better than Milton ever could.

TwoShedsJackson

Zamboni wrote: »

You've just described hell better than Milton ever could.

A slight bit of hyperbole there perhaps, but I certainly wouldn't take this property.

A shared bathroom in this day and age - isn't it a legal requirement for all rental properties to have their own bathroom now?

Also, a landlady who lets herself in all the time and opens bills etc. is going the be a pain in the arse, most likely.

There are hundreds of properties where you won't have to put up with that sort of rubbish, and even get your own bathroom thrown in.

Treehouse72

> Communal bathroom - illegal
> Opening somebody else's bills - illegal
> Letting herself into your property - illegal


Walk away.



Ed: OP, you asked whether any of this is normal. The answer is absolutely not.

Duckjob

Treehouse72 wrote: »

> Communal bathroom - illegal
> Opening somebody else's bills - illegal
> Letting herself into your property - illegal


Walk away.



Ed: OP, you asked whether any of this is normal. The answer is absolutely not.

Well, the ESB might still be addressed to the landlord, in which case it wouldnt be illegal for LL to open it. Still odd though.

Re. letting herself in - If a landlord can't grasp that they are not renting a building, they are renting a home along with the associated right to privacy that comes with a home, then they have no business being in the property rental game.

noxqs

I wouldn't live there even if I got paid to do so. Prisoners got better accommodation than that.

shauna0

You cant open a bill that's addressed to someone else. If its in your name; your the only person who can open it

stargazer 68

shauna0 wrote: »

You cant open a bill that's addressed to someone else. If its in your name; your the only person who can open it

Its a bedsit in a shared house - I would imagine the bills are in the landladys name.

mary_hayes

OP here, sorry should have said the esb bill is in her own name, she opens it before leaving it with us. There is also a system of tokens where you buy a certain number of them off the landlady which allows you to use the shower, washing machine and dryer. This is €480 a month also.

TwoShedsJackson

Is €480 a month the total rent? I'm just going to hope you're not paying that for use of the shower, washing machine and dryer... - just to get it straight, are you paying the ESB bill and buying these tokens? If so, you are being fleeced.

Your first post seems to state you just went to see the place yesterday, but the second implies you are already renting?

Ray Palmer

Don't take it. You could share with somebody for this price very easily. A family member is renting out a 3 bed ex corpo house for €900 and that has two batrooms.

Shared bathroom is not illegal BTW, not yet. Entering the property is the thing I would not like but by the sounds of it you are talking about a place close to a halfway house.

Unless you are in a very desperate situation do not go for it because that's what that property is really for. Suitable for some but not many. There is a place for such property in the market but not at that price.

mary_hayes

OP again
No i'm not renting yet but I want a place to myself, I've done the sharing thing and I'm getting desperate!
No, the rent is €480, that includes the heat and bins. I have to pay ESB on top of it and buy tokens to use the shower and washing machine.

TwoShedsJackson

Do not take it, you will get better, or another bedsit type place where you do not have to bother with this token crap etc., and prob not have a landlady nosing in every week.

Expecting you to pay the ESB bill and buy tokens to use the shower and washing machine is a scam.

Uncle Junior

From February 2013 it will be a legal requirement for all rented property to have its own self-contained bathroom / WC so the days of the old-fashioned bedsit as you describe it are numbered. What that could mean for you is that the LL will either seek to sell the property or renovate it, both of which will probably mean you will be asked to leave. So, all in all, given the large supply of one-bedroom apartments in this country (as well as other units also with their own sanitary facilities) I would recommend that you walk away from this particular accommodation unit.

lainey316

You will do better. Fairly easily, if you're happy with a bedsit. Plenty in D6 anyway for that kind of money. With their own bathroom, obv.

OK - my landlord does come in to collect the rent. There's no looking around, no checking, nothing, he puts one foot in the door to pick it up, fill in the book and walk. I was dubious originally and he was at pains to point out that he wouldn't be looking around or anything but it's worked out fine. This lady doesn't sound as compartmentalised. Checking out the state of the place is unreasonable.

Shared bathroom is ... just horrendous.