Letting agent deciding on what number of tenants is suitable

justback83

Hi,

So we are on the hunt for a two-bed apartment in Dublin. There are 3 of us - a couple and a single girl. All in our mid-thirties, all employed full time. We viewed an apartment at the weekend and loved it, applied for it and have been told that they would not let this apartment to three people as it was "too small" for three people. They then went on to tell me that they have a 2-bed apartment available for an extra €100 per month that is more suited to 3 people.

1. Can they decide that a 2-bed is too small for 3 people?? (I would understand if I was trying to squeeze a family of 4/5 in there)
2. Does it sound a bit dodgy that they happen to have a more expensive one available that would suit that extra person?

TwoShedsJackson

1. Yes. More people in a smaller area equals more wear and tear. More chance of someone leaving etc.
2. Not dodgy, just an obvious sales ploy. The letting agent's job is to get as much money out of you all for a property, they're not there to do you any favours.

frippy

That sounds fairly normal I would think

Arbiter of Good Taste

justback83 wrote: »

Hi,

So we are on the hunt for a two-bed apartment in Dublin. There are 3 of us - a couple and a single girl. All in our mid-thirties, all employed full time. We viewed an apartment at the weekend and loved it, applied for it and have been told that they would not let this apartment to three people as it was "too small" for three people. They then went on to tell me that they have a 2-bed apartment available for an extra €100 per month that is more suited to 3 people.

1. Can they decide that a 2-bed is too small for 3 people?? (I would understand if I was trying to squeeze a family of 4/5 in there)
2. Does it sound a bit dodgy that they happen to have a more expensive one available that would suit that extra person?

Why does the default position have to be "dodgy"? You haven't been tricked into handing over your cash. If you don't like it, you are free to walk away.

The landlord can decide how many he will accept living in the apartment. More people mean more wear and tear. More people mean more pressure on waste collection for which he is covering with the management fees he's paying. More people mean more risk of parties, overnight guests, people coming and going, etc.

I am assuming that the advertisement did not specify 2 people only, which is a pain from your perspective since it was a waste of your time. But otherwise, it seems above board to me.

The_Morrigan

I live in a 2 bed apartment, it is not suitable for 3 people as there isn't enough communal living areas (I only have a 2 seater couch for instance) and there most definitely isn't enough storage space for 3 people.
There are currently two of us living here and at times we do get under each others feet, there would be war if there was a third.

Mrs OBumble

The_Morrigan wrote: »

I live in a 2 bed apartment, it is not suitable for 3 people as there isn't enough communal living areas (I only have a 2 seater couch for instance) and there most definitely isn't enough storage space for 3 people.
There are currently two of us living here and at times we do get under each others feet, there would be war if there was a third.

I'm in more or less the same situation. When I moved in, I was single and it was perfect: the 2nd bedroom is small and only has a skylight, great for visitors, great to leave again. I even had couples come to stay a few times - but only for a few days.

Mr OBumble and his tools moved in, and the latter now occupy part of the living area

We still take occasional visitors, but could not possibly have a 3rd person in this apartment all the time. We do not even have friends over for dinner - there just is not space.


Apparently there were four people living here previously - but I think they were students who went home at the weekends.

justback83

Arbiter of Good Taste wrote: »

Why does the default position have to be "dodgy"? You haven't been tricked into handing over your cash. If you don't like it, you are free to walk away.

The landlord can decide how many he will accept living in the apartment. More people mean more wear and tear. More people mean more pressure on waste collection for which he is covering with the management fees he's paying. More people mean more risk of parties, overnight guests, people coming and going, etc.

I am assuming that the advertisement did not specify 2 people only, which is a pain from your perspective since it was a waste of your time. But otherwise, it seems above board to me.

The default position is "dodgy" as I've been screwed over by landlords before!

So it turns out now the larger 2-bed which would have been suitable for 3 people (for €100 extra per month) is no longer suitable for 3 people. Conveniently, though, they now have a 3-bed for €500 extra per month that would suit us..........still not dodgy?!!

tinz18

To be perfectly honest at this stage I'd walk away from that company OP. Fool me once and all that...I had the same experience down in Cork with certain agents (Oh this is perfect- it's just €500 over the budget you initially laid out kind of stuff) and it just lead to more time-wasting.

As for the can they decide its too small? I would say there's nothing you can do about it so don't be worrying about it and getting annoyed about it. When you contact for a viewing, emphasize that there's three of ye, so that you're not go to viewings and being put in the situation outlined in your original post.

Would say though when my fella and I were initially hunting for a place with his best friend we were looking for a three bed place. Just for extra storage and for those nights where there might be a falling out or someone starting on early morning shifts etc.

justback83

tinz18 wrote: »

To be perfectly honest at this stage I'd walk away from that company OP. Fool me once and all that...I had the same experience down in Cork with certain agents (Oh this is perfect- it's just €500 over the budget you initially laid out kind of stuff) and it just lead to more time-wasting.
As for the can they decide its too small? I'm a tenant and I would say there's nothing you can do about it so don't be worrying about it. When you contact for a viewing state, that there's three of ye so that you're not go to viewings and then being told sorry that its not suitable.

I've completely lost faith in the company. But I don't want to leave it here! We spent hours getting the application together, contacting referees (landlord and work). They company requested written references by the way, not just a contact number. What annoys me is they always knew that we wanted the apartment for 3 people.

Surely there's someone I can take my grievances to? It's hard enough in Dublin at the minute without this sort of nonsense going on!

tinz18

justback83 wrote: »

Surely there's someone I can take my grievances to? It's hard enough in Dublin at the minute without this sort of nonsense going on!

Its currently a landlords market- there pretty much is no one to go to, time-wasting and lack of courtesy is acceptable these days it seems- drives me crazy too but that's life. There was so many appointments that we turned up to where the agent was a no show with no call to cancel and when we rang up the house was gone days beforehand was incredibly annoying. Talking to one of the rare straight up honest letting agents, she said it was becoming a major problem but because of the demand outstripping supply they can keep behaving so rudely because if you drop out, there's five more groups waiting to take your space.