Renting in Ireland for non-Irish people

tinyrabbit

Hi i found this forum and im posting to look for some advice and any do's and don't's.
Im looking for a 2 bedroom property in cork, with 2 double bedrooms.
Myself and partner in one room and another couple who we are friends with in the other.

I am not a Irish passport holder, I currently hold a British passport.
Everytime I contact letting agents they seem very put off by this.

As im not currently in Cork I say to all letting agents I cant view a property immediately, but if you have any upcoming properties, or any still available/likely to stay available I can come to Cork but, for obvious reasons I cant come immediately.
I also have contacted properties I like to look of and offered to put a holding fee down on the assumption I will accept the property, if for any reason we didn't, we would lose the holding fee, that I am fine with.

We also want all 4 names to be on the tenancy agreement.
We have a deposit and rent in advance, what else would we need to provide to rent in Ireland? I am 26 do I need to provide some sort of guarantor?

Also i'm looking on all the property websites daft.ie, property.ie, rent.ie gumtree etc. I don't see many private landlords not going through letting agents? Are these advertised somewhere else?

Also most properties i see are advertised as immediately, do they not advertise a month in advance when the previous tenant hands in their notice?

Sorry for the long post, in the UK it hasn't been so hard for me to rent before. And its quite urgent we find somewhere, for work reasons.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Koptain Liverpool

I think you would be better off waiting until you get here before deciding which apartment/house you want to rent. You'll have a better idea of which area you want after spending a day or two in the city and you'll also be able to make sure everything in the property is in order. You could stay in a cheap b&b or hostel for the first few days. I'm sure you could find a suitable place in no time.

Of course you should also be able to organize somewhere before you come if you look hard enough.

In addition to rent and deposit landlords and agents in Ireland usually require previous landlord references and statements of employment (to show that you'll have income to pay the rent). Just be upfront with landlords if you don't have all of these and they'll often be flexible.

Some agents don't like renting two bedroom apartments to 4 people I think due to the perception of greater possible wear and tear. You might find it easier to get a house......

dory

I would agree a house would be easier for four people. And I don't think your passport has anything to do with it. Letting agents just want to rent places quickly and they probably think you wont be able to come over in the near future from the UK. Best advice would be to come over, stay in a cheap B&B and you should be able to find somewhere within 3 days or so.

Marcusm

I am not a Irish passport holder, I currently hold a British passport.
Everytime I contact letting agents they seem very put off by this.

I'm surprised that they are put off by your being British, is it the case that they are put off by the fact that you're not liviing in Ireland rather than your nationality? I ask because, typifying a country which has recently experienced a property price drop, rentals are very much in demand so the likelihood is that they are put off by your not being in the country to inspect and seal the deal rather than your nationality as such. I say that as an Irish person living in London since 1996 who has been renting in Dublin for a number of years - the agents deprioritise those not on the gorund as they are not convinced that you're serious.

tinyrabbit

Hi thanks everyone for you comments. I will take all your advice, im going to put in a search for a house now aswell and try my luck from that.
I can gain previous tenancy refs, from a few years ago, my current property is a flat owned by a family member so I know I cant use that. So I will contact them as try and get them, is it just a letter confirming their contact details...Also my friend can gain refs from her previous landlord.

I just got the impression is was because of my passport, although I cant say that was the case as it is reasonable to say it is because i'm not there.

So my friend starts her job on 1st September so she is staying in temp accommodation.
So if I go over in the next week or so and look for a place, like suggested..
can anyone give me a rough idea on how long after placing the deposit down and doing the paperwork it would take to get the keys?

Also is there anywhere I should look for private ones?

thanks all for your comments

Pawwed Rig

tinyrabbit wrote: »

I can gain previous tenancy refs, from a few years ago, my current property is a flat owned by a family member so I know I cant use that.

No reason why not. All references are good. The more recent the better.

tinyrabbit wrote: »

So if I go over in the next week or so and look for a place, like suggested..
can anyone give me a rough idea on how long after placing the deposit down and doing the paperwork it would take to get the keys?

Also is there anywhere I should look for private ones?

I would expect the keys when I give the deposit or pretty soon afterwards.
Daft is the best source in Dublin. Not sure on Cork.
You could check the local papers too

Mrs OBumble

You have a Brittish passport ... but what accent do you have, and how good is your spoken English?

It's possible that your ethnicity will be more of an issue than your nationality.

(Just a hunch here .. )

Though as the others have said, not being here is the biggest barrier to start with. And some landlords prefer foreigners to Irish people, for reasons that I'm not going in to here.

ABajaninCork

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You have a Brittish passport ... but what accent do you have, and how good is your spoken English?

It's possible that your ethnicity will be more of an issue than your nationality.

(Just a hunch here .. )

Though as the others have said, not being here is the biggest barrier to start with. And some landlords prefer foreigners to Irish people, for reasons that I'm not going in to here.

Was this a serious comment, Mrs O??? :eek: What a crass question to ask...

I have a Lahndahn (London!) accent and hold a British passport. As English is my mother tongue, my spoken English is as good as everybody else's!

From personal experience, it's not the fact you're a Brit (Failte go Corcaigh - Welcome to Cork), it's the fact you're not here as yet.

The suggestion that you get a B & B for now is a good one. Wander round the city (PM me if you need help!), and see which area you'd like to live in. I'd also look to get a house as the build quality on the flats here isn't great and you'll probably have noise issues which you might not necessarily get in a house.

Good luck!

sweetie

could be due to the amount of foreign scam artists targetting daft et al? Not fair to tar you with the same brush but people can be blinkered. I've advertised a few places and always get four or five emails that are dodgy.

ABajaninCork

BTW, OP: Are you working at Apple? . Do a search on the Cork City forum, and you'll find LOADS of threads giving advice on the best places to go for rent.

tinyrabbit

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You have a Brittish passport ... but what accent do you have, and how good is your spoken English?

It's possible that your ethnicity will be more of an issue than your nationality.

(Just a hunch here .. )

Hi,
I am white British and was born and breed in the United Kingdom, my accent is a normal southern English accent.

I think it is more a case of not being there as you all have suggested. So I will travel to Ireland to try and find a place.

tinyrabbit

ABajaninCork wrote: »

The suggestion that you get a B & B for now is a good one. Wander round the city (PM me if you need help!), and see which area you'd like to live in. I'd also look to get a house as the build quality on the flats here isn't great and you'll probably have noise issues which you might not necessarily get in a house.

Good luck!

thank you very much:)

Mrs OBumble

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Was this a serious comment, Mrs O??? :eek: What a crass question to ask...

I have a Lahndahn (London!) accent and hold a British passport. As English is my mother tongue, my spoken English is as good as everybody else's!

Deadly serious, and based on the expereinces that some of my colleagues have had.

Sorry you think it's crass. But I was asking the OP, not you. His/her experience may have been different to yours (thought as it transpires, possibly not).

NB I can 100% tell you that British people are not treated as equals here. My NZ accent occasionally gets mistaken as English - and when people find out, their attitude toward me generally changes a lot.

Pawwed Rig

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

NB I can 100% tell you that British people are not treated as equals here. My NZ accent occasionally gets mistaken as English - and when people find out, their attitude toward me generally changes a lot.

Really?
That is sad. I would hope it is a small minority

ABajaninCork

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Deadly serious, and based on the expereinces that some of my colleagues have had.

Sorry you think it's crass. But I was asking the OP, not you. His/her experience may have been different to yours (thought as it transpires, possibly not).

NB I can 100% tell you that British people are not treated as equals here. My NZ accent occasionally gets mistaken as English - and when people find out, their attitude toward me generally changes a lot.

That's fine. But I read it. I still think it was a crass remark to make. And the attitude you describe is not indicative of my experience here, and I'm black!!

Perhaps it's just Cork people eh?

quietsailor

Tinyrabbit - if you want to post links to a few ads on here or PM me if you feel uncomfortable I'll try to give you an idea of the areas and services in the areas.

I've had a lot of people rent rooms in my house who were in the same situation as you - living abroad and travelling here with little time to look for accomodation before starting college or work so I know you're due a stressful few days

tinyrabbit

hi everyone,
still no luck in finding somwhere...viewed 3 places so far and they say that its no big enough for 2 couples.
viewed 1 of the places asked if they would accept renting it to 2 couples and they said for a extra 200 euros, bumping the price up.
choices letting agent seem to have a few, but dont respond to emails..so will call them on monday
does anyone know where i can look for private local ads? what is the name of the local paper i should use?
thanks

ABajaninCork

NOOOOOOO! DO NOT GO TO CHOICES!!!!!

See here for Choices Hall of Shame....

tinyrabbit

what about trading places are they okay?

ABajaninCork

Chuck up a thread in the Cork City forum. Someone with better knowledge than I should be able to assist...

quietsailor

I'd second that warning about Choices, but really you can't trust any agency at all. They all have bad stories following them around the internet about hassle in getting your deposit back. Unfortunately that's not only an agency problem Landlords do it as well.

In all cases I'd advise you to;

Make sure you tell the LL/Agent you want the

• PRTB form available when you sign the lease - it'll give them fair warning that you'll actually report them if they try unfairly keeping any of your deposit.
• Insist on taking photos yourself and get the LL/agent to either sign the printed copy or else email them to the LL/agent - it creates a paper trail to prove the condition of the items if there is a dispute when you leave.
• Switch on&off absolutely EVERYTHING in the house, sit/lie down on all beds and couches/chairs - once you sign the lease you are accepting it in the state it is. Don't accept "we'll have that sorted before you move in" as an excuse if there is broken/faulty equipment. Tell them you want to hold back a portion of the rent until it gets fixed. They won't go for that but it would either spur them into fixing the problem or if they refuse you'll know you have dodgy LL/agent and stay away from them.
• If the agency is trying to say they will be inspecting the house regularly remind them you have un-interrupted use of your house under Irish law, the inspections have to be at a time that suits you and they can't enter the house unaccompanied without your (written) permission

ABajaninCork

I'd make sure the photos are dated too. Put a copy of the day's paper in plain sight.

quietsailor

Good advice about the dating of the photo with the paper, dates on a digital camera can be altered an adjudicator in the PRTB is more likely to believe dates on a newspaper in the photo than to disbelieve the date.

Here's a few more links to resources about renting in Ireland;

Residential Tenancies Act the actual law about tenancies
Housing Standards Act - the minimum standard the house should have
Housing standards simplified A government document explainig the min. standards expected in rented acomodation, a bit easier to digest than the SI above
Threshold advice page about ending tenancies
PSRA the government agency who are supervising the estate agents conduct