Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Student accommodation gouging

  • 27-08-2019 4:02pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 3,945 ✭✭✭Anima


    https://twitter.com/betaburns/status/1166065984345710597

    Saw this and thought it sounded pretty extreme. Is that relatively common? That's more in rent than most working professionals I know. I mean you can rent a 2 bedroom apartment in town for 1200-1400 so why not just pair with someone at that stage. Or even stay in a hostel.

    Forking out 700e for only midweek and having to move stuff out at the weekend seems almost untrue.


«13

Comments



  • I know of a house near the Crescent that has 13 occupants in the house and another 6 in a small chalet in the back garden.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,945 ✭✭✭Anima


    Is the landlord not taking a massive risk doing that?




  • Anima wrote: »
    Is the landlord not taking a massive risk doing that?

    Many freshers won't know their full tenancy rights..


  • Registered Users Posts: 25,594 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    No tenancy rights involved: it's a licensee situation.

    Does it include meals, and laundry / bedding? That may change the value proposition quite a bit - how does it compare with other hostels, pricewise? Snoozles were advertising a 5-night student package for 80 per week, but that's in a shared dorm room, vastly different to having your own room.

    It's expensive - but she's probably well aware of the likely drop-out rate, and the amount of **** that she'll have to put up with from the kids.

    Many students go home every weekend anyway, so taking all their stuff isn't actually such a hardship. The flow back in to town on Sunday night and Monday morning is really quite incredible to watch.


  • Registered Users Posts: 138 ✭✭Deaf student


    Anima wrote: »
    https://twitter.com/betaburns/status/1166065984345710597

    Saw this and thought it sounded pretty extreme. Is that relatively common? That's more in rent than most working professionals I know. I mean you can rent a 2 bedroom apartment in town for 1200-1400 so why not just pair with someone at that stage. Or even stay in a hostel.



    Forking out 700e for only midweek and having to move stuff out at the weekend seems almost untrue.

    It gone too far re landlord greed. It works out €175 for every 5 days (not including Sat and Sun). All cash which aims to avoid tax which can't be traced back. Monthly income derived from rent is €9,100 per month plus Airbnb income at e weekend. Whole year income for the landlord is well over €119K+.
    It would create stress by moving the stuff in and out every weekend- Not worth it in my view.

    Alternatives : if no other accommodation available then pay cash and report that landlord to revenue commissioners for income or more precisely hidden income not declared cos all cash.

    If there are other accommodation available, leave that place ASAP and opt for a cheaper option.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 2,917 ✭✭✭beardybrewer


    We stayed in a rental when we first moved to Galway advertised as "professionals only". Previously the landlord had a big group of kids who destroyed the place, kicked in every door, smashed every window. He was a builder and got the place fixed up and put up with our near monthly odd-jobs to meet probably much higher standards than students and parted on good terms after 6 months. What I found interesting was he was going back to a pack of kids. Probably more maintenance but easier and lots more cash.




  • The original twitter poster has stated the price is for digs, so that's room, breakfast and evening meal, heating, electricity, wifi, fresh linen etc all included

    700pm is about right for that

    The "clear the room on Fri" is also not unusual. Many b&b's do digs over the winter and sell the rooms on the weekends


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,812 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    No tenancy rights involved: it's a licensee situation.

    Does it include meals, and laundry / bedding? That may change the value proposition quite a bit - how does it compare with other hostels, pricewise? Snoozles were advertising a 5-night student package for 80 per week, but that's in a shared dorm room, vastly different to having your own room.

    It's expensive - but she's probably well aware of the likely drop-out rate, and the amount of **** that she'll have to put up with from the kids.

    Many students go home every weekend anyway, so taking all their stuff isn't actually such a hardship. The flow back in to town on Sunday night and Monday morning is really quite incredible to watch.

    13 students in a house I doubt they are in their own rooms.
    It gone too far re landlord greed. It works out €175 for every 5 days (not including Sat and Sun). All cash which aims to avoid tax which can't be traced back. Monthly income derived from rent is €9,100 per month plus Airbnb income at e weekend. Whole year income for the landlord is well over €119K+.
    It would create stress by moving the stuff in and out every weekend- Not worth it in my view.

    Alternatives : if no other accommodation available then pay cash and report that landlord to revenue commissioners for income or more precisely hidden income not declared cos all cash.

    If there are other accommodation available, leave that place ASAP and opt for a cheaper option.

    AirBnB inform revenue of everyone renting on their platform. Just because someone only wants cash doesn't mean they are avoiding tax, they could be avoiding other people though. Must find out where this place is as it's a handy €9k for anyone who isn't honest on a Friday.


  • Registered Users Posts: 770 ✭✭✭afkasurfjunkie


    9k a month plus air bnb cash too. But you have to share your house with 12 19 year olds. Ugh. The ‘stingiest thing you’ve seen stingy people do’ thread must be heaving at this time of year. Do students bring their sheets away with them on a Friday too? The beds must be mank.


  • Registered Users Posts: 45,179 ✭✭✭✭Bobeagleburger


    Cash only. Hmmm


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 4,323 ✭✭✭Homelander


    That sounds a bit extreme. It would literally be cheaper to live in a hostel (which specifically advertise student deals), and if you're sharing a house with 12 other students you'll be living in a hostel style setup anyway, so why bother. 700 for Mon-Fri in a bunk bed is utter madness.


  • Registered Users Posts: 693 ✭✭✭grbear


    6 wrote: »
    Cash only. Hmmm

    Yeah. Everything else sounds a bit extreme but at least seems above board. Cash only stinks to high heaven though.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭antix80


    Sounds like a very hard working landlord!
    The place is being run as a B&B/hostel from the sounds of it.
    Based on 21 "working" days a month, that's €33 a night. Does rent have to be paid during holidays like summer and Christmas? If not, it sounds like a good arrangement & no doubt one that students take into account then choosing that place, instead of a cheaper house-share that might involve a short commute.
    The idiotic twitter user says "Nationalise & redistribute all property"- not sure who that would help.. the place would turn into a hovel within days.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭xckjoo


    This kinda thing has being going on for a few years now. I'm pretty sure the landlords see the "earn tax free up to €14k" (I think it's 14k) and just work backwards to determine the price-per-week. It's extreme gouging. No two ways about it. I'm just curious as to where the accommodation in the OP is. I've seen similar ads for places located in the arse end of nowhere, so they're still going to have to drive to college everyday and spend a fortune on taxis if they want to go out and socialise.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 945 ✭✭✭Always Tired


    can't believe people are justifying this and saying the landlord is 'working hard'!

    700 per month. 12 housemates. and feck off on Friday.

    the clear the room on Friday part should be illegal. if you pay monthly rent you should have the room for the entire month. when i was in college I was paying half that and I had to stay down at the weekend to work at a part time job to pay for the room.

    landlord is absolutely creaming it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,502 ✭✭✭Topgear on Dave


    The story sounds like its 2nd hand information from twitter "activist". I certainly wouldnt be fully relying on it for accuracy.

    If it is digs it as mentioned above it might not be so bad. I lived in digs in first year about 20 years ago. There were seven of us in the house, 3 double rooms and a single. Breakfast and dinner on the table every day.

    I had mighty craic as a first year in them, the owners had been keeping students for years and nothing bothered them.


    Mrs O Bumble has it correct above. I see a wave of buses arrive in Maynooth every Sunday and return Friday morning/afternoon so there is a big market for Mon-Fri accomodation.




  • Last few outraged posters all missed that the price is for digs?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭xckjoo


    Last few outraged posters all missed that the price is for digs?
    Where do you see that it's for digs?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,945 ✭✭✭Anima


    antix80 wrote: »
    The idiotic twitter user says "Nationalise & redistribute all property"- not sure who that would help.. the place would turn into a hovel within days.

    Yeah ignore that part, obviously she's a complete moron but that's why I was asking was the story possibly true.
    xckjoo wrote:
    I'm just curious as to where the accommodation in the OP is.
    She said in another comment it was near NUIG/dangan I think.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18 Gladcon


    Du


  • Advertisement


  • xckjoo wrote: »
    Where do you see that it's for digs?

    The original twitter poster stated it in a later tweet


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,752 ✭✭✭✭flazio


    There's information missing here that would greatly assist me in forming an opinion on the landlord. Information I have no right to. Namely what other income they have, how much their property is worth and are they currently paying finance on it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭xckjoo


    The original twitter poster stated it in a later tweet
    I couldn't see it anywhere in the original twitter thread. Think it's been deleted now too. I only ask because I've seen a number of ads for similar set ups that didn't include meals or access to a kitchen.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,155 ✭✭✭Wompa1


    If it's not full time and is only Monday-Friday does that even count as a long term tenancy or is it short term?

    Can they stay there on Bank Holiday Mondays, I wonder.

    Either way, it's unbelievable greed. Hopefully Karma catches up with these people.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭antix80


    Wompa1 wrote: »
    Either way, it's unbelievable greed. Hopefully Karma catches up with these people.

    You don't know the landlord's circumstances. You're going by 2nd hand info from twitter.
    I don't think it's a simply case of saying "12 people x 12 months x €700 = €100k Tax free"

    Maybe it's 10 people, and maybe it's for 10 months excl summers, and maybe the rent is €600 on average.. take out electricity, broadband, repairs and maintenance, cleaning, etc, and income tax... the landlord is probably left with about €30-40k for what's essentially a full-time job. Hardly luxury, considering they're left sharing a house with 10 others.


  • Registered Users Posts: 25,594 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    antix80 wrote: »
    Maybe it's 10 people, and maybe it's for 10 months excl summers, and maybe the rent is €600 on average.. take out electricity, broadband, repairs and maintenance, cleaning, etc, and income tax... the landlord is probably left with about €30-40k for what's essentially a full-time job. Hardly luxury, considering they're left sharing a house with 10 others.

    Indeed.

    And the college year is only nine months long. And there are likely to be some dropouts.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭xckjoo


    antix80 wrote: »
    You don't know the landlord's circumstances. You're going by 2nd hand info from twitter.
    I don't think it's a simply case of saying "12 people x 12 months x €700 = €100k Tax free"

    Maybe it's 10 people, and maybe it's for 10 months excl summers, and maybe the rent is €600 on average.. take out electricity, broadband, repairs and maintenance, cleaning, etc, and income tax... the landlord is probably left with about €30-40k for what's essentially a full-time job. Hardly luxury, considering they're left sharing a house with 10 others.
    €30-40k extra income.... and they won't charge different amounts unless there's a big reason like some people are sharing rooms. It's hardly "essentially a full-time job" either. They aren't going to be walking them to college and holding their hands. Doubt they'll do the laundry, unless maybe the sheets at weekends, and there's no evidence to suggest all meals are included. Do you think they'll be getting a fry in the morning, packed lunch for college and a slap up dinner? You don't use that much electricity occupying one room in a house for 5 days, particularly if you're spending most of your day out of the house. Broadband is a fixed cost, not based on number of users. They're already paying that. You can be sure the student will be out on their ear too if they cause any damage. If luxury was the issue to the owner, they could let out less rooms. They've obviously decided that they'd rather rent out the room than have the space. The "luxury" is in having the option to rent out a room for 5 days a week for €700 a month.

    It almost certainly won't include summer either but not sure how that makes it better. If the student gets a part-time job to offset the cost (which many need to do) they might need to stay around for the summer so now they have to find somewhere else to live.

    One of the worst things to me is the requirement to be completely moved out of your room every Friday morning. It means you're restricted to essentially living out of 1 suitcase at all times and you then have to lug that around with you all day Friday.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭Red_Wake


    xckjoo wrote: »
    €30-40k extra income.... and they won't charge different amounts unless there's a big reason like some people are sharing rooms. It's hardly "essentially a full-time job" either. They aren't going to be walking them to college and holding their hands. Doubt they'll do the laundry, unless maybe the sheets at weekends, and there's no evidence to suggest all meals are included. Do you think they'll be getting a fry in the morning, packed lunch for college and a slap up dinner? You don't use that much electricity occupying one room in a house for 5 days, particularly if you're spending most of your day out of the house. Broadband is a fixed cost, not based on number of users. They're already paying that. You can be sure the student will be out on their ear too if they cause any damage. If luxury was the issue to the owner, they could let out less rooms. They've obviously decided that they'd rather rent out the room than have the space. The "luxury" is in having the option to rent out a room for 5 days a week for €700 a month.

    It almost certainly won't include summer either but not sure how that makes it better. If the student gets a part-time job to offset the cost (which many need to do) they might need to stay around for the summer so now they have to find somewhere else to live.

    One of the worst things to me is the requirement to be completely moved out of your room every Friday morning. It means you're restricted to essentially living out of 1 suitcase at all times and you then have to lug that around with you all day Friday.

    There's not much detail at all. The tweet only contains only the incendiary details required to rouse the rabble.

    Absolute storm in a teacup, unsubstantiated chinese whispers from some twitter nob.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭xckjoo


    Red_Wake wrote: »
    There's not much detail at all. The tweet only contains only the incendiary details required to rouse the rabble.

    Absolute storm in a teacup, unsubstantiated chinese whispers from some twitter nob.
    While I agree with you on the issue with twitter mobs, it's very much an ongoing issue that's only getting worse. This one just happened to catch the publics attention for whatever reason.


  • Advertisement


  • If people want to pay it then options like this will be available, the house owner (not a LL) is simply maximizing their profit like any business should. If you don’t want to stay there then don’t, it’s a bed that wouldn’t be there otherwise so it will suit some people and is a lot better than many alternatives.

    This needs to be repeated again obviously, the person is NOT A LANDLORD, they are inviting guests into their home and can run the house anyway they want.

    Alternatives : if no other accommodation available then pay cash and report that landlord to revenue commissioners for income or more precisely hidden income not declared cos all cash.

    .

    Only a right bad b*stard would act like that, I’d wish the worst luck on a person even suggesting it. The LL tax affairs are none of your concern.
    The original twitter poster has stated the price is for digs, so that's room, breakfast and evening meal, heating, electricity, wifi, fresh linen etc all included

    700pm is about right for that

    The "clear the room on Fri" is also not unusual. Many b&b's do digs over the winter and the rooms on the weekends

    Very common around college road with children in Yates, they have to fully clear out every Friday as the b&bs all take bookings over the weekend. Perfectly acceptable way to operate.


This discussion has been closed.
Advertisement