Bedsits

aloyisious

Just heard on RTE that as from Feb 2013, new Dept of Environment laws come into force as regard's bedsit arrangements. Each will have to have it's own separate shower and toilet facilities. Some landlords have said they will NOT be able, due to the building structure (Victorian-era, etc) they will not be able to fit the new requirements as they are not able/allowed change the buildings structures.

So to ensure they don't fall foul of the new laws failure-to-comply-sanctions of €5,000 fines and 6 month in prison they will be forced to issue quit-notices to their tenants in affected accommodation which they cannot/are not allowed to alter.

This from thecorknews.ie: 25/11/11 at 07:08 AM | 0 Comments

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Landlords of bedsits in Cork city claim that they may be forced to evict their tenants and close down their units, due to new laws that will require them to renovate the dwellings or face closure.

Up to 15,000 people are living in bedsits nationally, and while the laws are not due to come into force until February 2013, a spokesperson for the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) has predicted “mass homelessness” when the new laws are enforced.

The IPOA representative was unable to confirm exactly how many landlords and dwellings in Cork would be affected by the regulations, but estimated that there were approximately 8,000 such units between Cork and Galway.

The landlords claim that they are unable to comply with the renovations required under the Housing Standards For Rented Accommodation Act, which include provision of a toilet or bathroom for each bedsit, heating and hot water control facilities, food preparation, storage and laundry.

In a statement issued recently by IPOA, chairman Stephen Faughnan claimed that “in the current economic climate, property owners cannot afford to renovate, and cannot get loans to do so”.

The association’s press officer, Margaret McCormick, told The Cork News this week that landlords had experienced difficulties in securing planning permission for the necessary works, and that some houses were “not suitable” for the conversion works required under the legislation.

She said that due to falling rents, cuts in mortgage interest relief and levies of €200 for each house or unit, landlords were simply unable to afford to carry out the renovations required under the laws.

The IPOA has called on homelessness agencies to support their efforts to have the legislation overturned. However, the manager of the Cork branch of Threshold, Diarmaid O’Sullivan, has countered that landlords of bedsits have been given adequate time to carry out the renovations required, and that the works would be to bring the accommodation to “minimum standards”.

“It strikes me that the IPOA are getting their lobbying in good and early. We are 18 months out from the deadline, and they would have known about this in 2008—in the view of Threshold, this is more than adequate time for landlords to get their properties into condition,” he said.

“It’s also the case that the majority of people in bedsits would probably be in receipt of rent supplement, which is paid by the State. Our view is that the State should not be paying for substandard accommodation,” Mr O’Sullivan added.

Valetta

Up to 15,000 people are living in bedsits nationally, and while the laws are not due to come into force until February 2013, a spokesperson for the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) has predicted “mass homelessness” when the new laws are enforced.

This is nonsense.

How many thousands of empty units are there?

kippy

Valetta wrote: »

This is nonsense.

How many thousands of empty units are there?

The issue is cost, I believe.
These bedsits are generally cheaper accommodation, for obvious reason and those staying in them may not be able to afford the rents the sometimes go with "non" bedsit accommodation.
(just speculating)

endacl

If a landlord wedges a jacks/shower into a bedsit, won't he just call it a 'studio', and charge more?

Valetta

At the moment empty units are getting zero rent.

Therefore I don't see them commanding a premium over existing rents.

kippy

Valetta wrote: »

At the moment empty units are getting zero rent.

Therefore I don't see them commanding a premium over existing rents.

Where exactly are you finding empty units available for free?

Valetta

I'm not saying they are available for free.

When they are empty they are not generating any rent, so if a demand arises as a result of a shortage of bedsits, then landlords- if they want to get any rent will have to accept the going rate.

I domn't see the number of bedsits which will have to be vacated being greater than the number of available flats/apartments.

kippy

Valetta wrote: »

I'm not saying they are available for free.

When they are empty they are not generating any rent, so if a demand arises as a result of a shortage of bedsits, then landlords- if they want to get any rent will have to accept the going rate.

I domn't see the number of bedsits which will have to be vacated being greater than the number of available flats/apartments.

So where are they then? Are they on daft?

I don't think you've been following the trends on rents and supply and demand, specifically in the cities, where these bedsits generally exist. (main headline on this report, Rents are on the Up in Dublin.)
http://www.daft.ie/report/

Demand for rental units in cities is generally higher than it ever has been, and prices aren't exactly cheap as a result of this.

I don't see how 15,000 extra people (probably wont be near that) are going to be able find places cheaper than where they are now.

foggy_lad

Those "bedsits" are only really suitable as emergency accommodation as they arer not suitable as a home for anyone for any longer than a couple of months. Landlords were always going to fight against anything that costs them money or eats into the massive profits some of them are making when they are nothing more than "slum" landlords.

I personally know of a few landlords in Carlow who rent rooms only to elderly men, some have no heating or proper washing facilities and the toilet is outside in the back. all they have in their room is a sofa-bed, wardrobe, a two ring & grill mini cooker, a double press for food, a sink to wash themselves and their clothes etc and the old dear that owns the dirty auld sh1t-hole has the cheek to charge them over double the rate for their ESB.

People like this can get away with their tiny cold damp bedsits up till now with the threat of eviction, it is a form of enslavement really as these tenants are never going to be in any position to seek better when they are living there paying high rent and nothing is ever down on paper or on any official forms, most wont accept rent supplement as the accommodation would not be accepted by the health boards anyway. but from next February they will have to provide proper accommodation for their tenants or lose out on that income.

Cabaal

kippy wrote: »

Where exactly are you finding empty units available for free?

err he didn't say that,

He merely said that there is alot of empty rental units that at the moment and not earning landlords anything.

As such if landlords up the price for bedsits people have other options as they can bargin down landlords that are currently making no money on their rentals.

kippy

Cabaal wrote: »

err he didn't say that,

He merely said that there is alot of empty rental units that at the moment and not earning landlords anything.

As such if landlords up the price for bedsits people have other options as they can bargin down landlords that are currently making no money on their rentals.

There are not many of them in the cities, based on reading some threads here and reports in different media.

Tow

Valetta wrote: »

This is nonsense.

How many thousands of empty units are there?

The bulk of these are out in the sticks, while the bedsits are in or near city/town centres. Two different markets.

Valetta

Tow wrote: »

The bulk of these are out in the sticks, while the bedsits are in or near city/town centres. Two different markets.

Take a walk around central Dublin and you won't go 10 yards without seeing a "To Let" sign on a block of apartments.

I would say Galway, Cork and Limerick are no different.

The IPOA obviously have a vested interest so their views are skewed.

Rents for one bedroomed or studio flats are not increasing, purely because there is more supply than demand.

dudara

Moved to Accommodation & Property

dudara

snubbleste

This story is four years old.

Ray Palmer

What people fail to realise is the type of tenants in these properties. Many addicts of all types along with mentally ill people. Not all but a huge portion.
There will be more homeless people as a result be sure.
LL had plenty of time to address this but no surprises that some let it slide. I'd have waited too it makes finacial sense to. Why cut off rental income when you can get it.

LittleBook

aloyisious wrote: »

Up to 15,000 people are living in bedsits nationally

Strange, cos there are very few "bedsits" on Daft. Shítload of apartments like this one though. :rolleyes:

L1011

LittleBook wrote: »

Strange, cos there are very few "bedsits" on Daft. Shítload of apartments like this one though. :rolleyes:

You'd think they'd change their template to remove "beautiful" in cases like this...

Also, not accepting RA on a bedsit is surely a way to ensure it never gets rented?

Ray Palmer

LittleBook wrote: »

Strange, cos there are very few "bedsits" on Daft. Shítload of apartments like this one though. :rolleyes:

The people who rent bed sits don't normally use the Internet. Daft just simply isn't used for such property. We are talking about the bottom of the market one step above a hostel, barely at that in most cases.
That one you posted up isn't a bedsit

keithclancy

Bedsits, just a few examples:
http://dublinopinion.com/2010/03/30/bedsits-of-dublin/

S*itholes

Pkiernan

foggy_lad wrote: »

I personally know of a few landlords in Carlow who rent rooms only to elderly men, some have no heating or proper washing facilities and the toilet is outside in the back. all they have in their room is a sofa-bed, wardrobe, a two ring & grill mini cooker, a double press for food, a sink to wash themselves and their clothes etc and the old dear that owns the dirty auld sh1t-hole has the cheek to charge them over double the rate for their ESB.

People like this can get away with their tiny cold damp bedsits up till now with the threat of eviction, it is a form of enslavement really as these tenants are never going to be in any position to seek better when they are living there paying high rent and nothing is ever down on paper or on any official forms, most wont accept rent supplement as the accommodation would not be accepted by the health boards anyway. but from next February they will have to provide proper accommodation for their tenants or lose out on that income.

Then why not do something? Report the slumlords in question. If they are as you say they are, then they are in violation of rental regulations.

Pkiernan

All the info you need to report these slumlords is here:

http://findaddress.citizensinformation.ie/service_finder/query.py?county=Carlow&category=Environmental+Health+Officers

Carlow

South Eastern Health Board

Community Care Centre
Athy Road
Carlow
Co. Carlow

Tel: +353 59 913 6300

fax: +353 59 913 6508

email: surname_firstinitial@sehb.ie

www: http://www.sehb.ie

Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 9.00-1.00 & 2.00-5.00.

gurramok

Landlords of these old style properties crying financial foul is a bit rich. Owners of Victorian houses have been in the game for decades before the arrival of the recent BTL brigade. They are highly unlikely to have huge mortgages on the dwellings.

And the poster foggy_lad is right about alot of bedsits. I've been in a few(as a visitor thankfully rather than live in one) bedsits on the NCR in Dublin, they are like slum facilities that many posters here would not even live in.

Milk & Honey

Daft doesn't have a facility to advertise bedsits. Every property has to have a minimum of one bedroom.

unreggd

Milk & Honey wrote: »

Daft doesn't have a facility to advertise bedsits. Every property has to have a minimum of one bedroom.

Wrong. The first option under the Lettings search for room quantity is 'Studio/bedsit'

They're not even that cheap, considering the location and condition of most of them. Damp, cold, listed as having central heating, which in reality is an oil heater that runs up the esb bill.

Basically a kitchen with a bed in it

Milk & Honey

unreggd wrote: »

Wrong. The first option under the Lettings search for room quantity is 'Studio/bedsit'

Wrong. The first option under the Lettings search for room quantity is 'Studio Apartment.
The advertiser is forced to state that there is 1 bedroom when placing the advert.

dearg lady

well some ads actually show 'studio/bedsit' and not '1 bedroom'

Owryan

Carlow town council had been offering people in bedsits the option of moving into apartments they had available but only a handful of people accepted so the scheme was cut back. I know one chap who took up the offer and he moved from a slum to a 2 bed apartment.

Milk & Honey

dearg lady wrote: »

well some ads actually show 'studio/bedsit' and not '1 bedroom'

That is in the body of the ad. When inputting only studio apartment is offered and a mini mum of 1 bedroom has to be input.

Greenmachine

Like some other posters I have been in a few of these places as a visitor and not to live. They really are horrible death traps listed with features like "newly renovated" when not a piece of furniture in the place has been changed in 40 years.
Nobody should be living in some of these places, I visited, sad how much value people will place on living close to the city when they have to live in filth.

dearg lady

Milk & Honey wrote: »

That is in the body of the ad. When inputting only studio apartment is offered and a mini mum of 1 bedroom has to be input.

I haven't tried to put an ad up, I'm just saying some appear as 'bedsit/studio' at the top of the ad, and not just in the body of the ad. You can actually search for this

riclad

i knew single people who lived in bedsits that were fine,
had fridge ,tv , cooker etc some were bad, some were ok,,saying every bedsit is awful is just untrue.
some people older ,on disability allowance they will have nowwhere to go .A Large flat or 1bed apartment is
over the ra limit in dublin.
They were very happy to live there.
Dublin corporation has only a limited amount of flats
for single people,most of which go to people over 60.
THIS is bad timing ,when rent allowance limits are being reduced.
IF YOU are a landlord ,with 4 bedsits, conversion costs 15k per unit,approx, you,ll end up with two flats going for 2x the previous rent,
ie over the ra limit.
You,ll have to charge higher rent.
i can see most rent allowance flats in dublin just
disappearing overnight.
ie it will make no financial sense to rent to a single person on rent allowance in most buildings .
it maybe different outside dublin where rents are much lower.

LANDLORDS were on joe duffy,saying i,ve one house
rented out, i wont be able to borrow 70 k to
convert my flats .i,m over 50 ,ill sell the house or just rent it out as 1 unit,
eg ill have to give notice to my tenants.
NOT all landlords are greedy millionaires ,
many just rent out 2 or 3 flats to rent allowance clients.
This new law basically wipes out flats on the lower end of the market, people on the lowest incomes will be hurt by this.
if you are on ra theres no way you can afford to rent a studio flat in most parts of dublin.

Milk & Honey

dearg lady wrote: »

I haven't tried to put an ad up, I'm just saying some appear as 'bedsit/studio' at the top of the ad, and not just in the body of the ad. You can actually search for this

Perhaps you can produce a link. I have just done a search and they all come up as studio apartment and that is the only search option also.

unreggd

Milk & Honey wrote: »

Perhaps you can produce a link. I have just done a search and they all come up as studio apartment and that is the only search option also.

A tad overdue... :P