laws around allowable number of tenants?

jommer01

A South American friend has recently moved to Dublin to study English and obviously got a bit of a land when she found out the price of accommodation along with everything else.

She's taken a place in a share house for 300 a month not including utilities. When I say share house I mean 6 bedroom house with 4 per room! So the landlord is taking in a total of 7,200 a month rent from no fewer than 24 people for a house on the north side. Is this legal!?

newacc2015

jommer01 wrote: »

A South American friend has recently moved to Dublin to study English and obviously got a bit of a land when she found out the price of accommodation along with everything else.

She's taken a place in a share house for 300 a month not including utilities. When I say share house I mean 6 bedroom house with 4 per room! So the landlord is taking in a total of 7,200 a month rent from no fewer than 24 people for a house on the north side. Is this legal!?

Yes, there is no laws on the number of people allowed in the property.

I cant understand why someone would move from a developing country to a wealthy Western European City without researching the cost of the living. Most Irish when they move to rich places like Luxembourg or Switzerland research how expensive it is first.

If your friend isnt happy, Im sure she can look elsewhere.

Grolschevik

Reminds me of this. Supposedly 42 tenants in a five-bed!

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/45-people-1-shower-up-to-10-in-a-roomthe-harsh-reality-of-life-in-a-dublin-flat-35138792.html

"It is extremely worrying if the report that up to 42 people are living in a five-bedroom house is correct," a spokesperson for the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) said.

"Having checked the Register we can confirm that this tenancy is registered, as a terraced five-bedroom property. Given the serious health and safety issues raised, the property concerned could not possibly comply with the Housing Regulations 2009.

"In light of the information received, the RTB will write immediately to the landlord setting out our concerns for the welfare of the tenants.

"We will write to Dublin City Council, asking them to arrange an inspection of the dwelling."

foggy_lad

jommer01 wrote: »

A South American friend has recently moved to Dublin to study English and obviously got a bit of a land when she found out the price of accommodation along with everything else.

She's taken a place in a share house for 300 a month not including utilities. When I say share house I mean 6 bedroom house with 4 per room! So the landlord is taking in a total of 7,200 a month rent from no fewer than 24 people for a house on the north side. Is this legal!?

As long as the property meets all the minimum standards for rental accommodation and is habitable and compliant in relation to fire exits smoke detectors etc then there is nothing stopping these "hostels apart from "planning permission" but there may be a question about when does a house become a hostel.

http://www.rtb.ie/landlords/rights-responsibilities-obligations/minimum-standards-for-rented-dwellings

Minimum Standards for Rented Dwellings

Minimum standards are set out in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 and the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) (Amendment) Regulations 2009. Minimum standards for rented accommodation are set by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG). The Local Authorities (LA’s) are responsible for inspecting rented accommodation and for enforcement of the standards.

What Are The Minimum Standards?

These regulations specify that rented property must meet minimum standards including:

The building must be free from damp and in good structural repair.
Hot and cold water available to the tenant.Must be available in the tenants flat/apartment and not some communal area.
Adequate heating and ventilation.
All appliances in good working order.
Electrical wiring, gas and water pipes all be in good repair.
Provide cooking preparation, storage of food and laundry facilities including a 4 ring hob, oven and grill, fridge and freezer or fridge freezer and microwave oven.Again all this must be in each individual flat/apartment but this does not apply to house sharing! (This is not applicable to Approved Housing Body Tenancies)
Have a fire blanket and fire alarms.
Have access to refuse storage facilities.

Graham

From the opinions above I'm guessing the Housing Act 1966 has been amended/replaced:

63.—A house shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be overcrowded at any time when the number of persons ordinarily sleeping in the house and the number of rooms therein either—

(a) are such that any two of those persons, being persons of ten years of age or more of opposite sexes and not being persons living together as husband and wife, must sleep in the same room, or

(b) are such that the free air space in any room used as a sleeping apartment, for any person is less than four hundred cubic feet (the height of the room, if it exceeds eight feet, being taken to be eight feet, for the purpose of calculating free air space),

and “overcrowding” shall be construed accordingly.

I also vaguely recall something about different fire regulations applying.....

4ensic15

There is a concept in planning law of intensification of use. Such intensification of use might amount to a material change of use for which planning permission would be required.

athtrasna

Landlords registering with the RTB are required to record the number of bed spaces on the form. I'm not sure if this is actionable or enforceable

jommer01

Thanks for the other replies.

It's very possible he's not breaking any law. I do know that every bedroom has a bathroom at least. I'll have to call round myself to check the place out. It just bugs me probably more than it should