The Boards.ie Quick and Dirty Renting Guide

seamus · 01-03-2004 04:06PM #1

Right, I shall be a proper tenant for the first time pretty soon, and have no idea what to look for, and obviously there will be others in the same boat from time to time.
Basically, I want to create a checklist that I can bring around with me when I go to look at places, so I can compare places and to force me to ask the right questions, instead of getting glossy-eyed at the remotely good view.
So you suggestions are much appreciated.

To get the ball rolling, I've found a few good resources....
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/looking_for_a_flat_or_house_to_rent.html

Give me help people!

Victor · 01-03-2004 06:14PM

Beware of Dubliners.

Why did they move out of Mammy's house?

Only rent what you can afford. One rule of thumb would be a maximum of nett pay (one quarter of gross pay).

Get a rent book or lease.

If you are likely to be staying for only a short time, explain this to your landlord. If you sign a one-year lease, the landlord can hold you to it.

does rent includes bills? If not, what is in/out?

Either all the bills are in one person's name or everyone has a bill in their name. No bill should have two peoples names.

Washing machine. Microwave.

Check bathroom conditon. Look for broken fittings, mould, etc.

Ensure premises is secure.

What is the area like at night / weekends?

Transport options (including Nitelinks).

Local services - shops, post office, bank doctor, dentist.

Phones / internet.

TV / video / cable / satellite.

Epitaph · 01-03-2004 07:04PM

I don't care if the double-glazed windows look like they were put in the day before, check for draughts!! They'll assassinate your heating costs.

Make sure that there's more than one electrical socket in your room. Multiple adapters aren't quite the scare story they used to be, but I'm wary of them all the same [:ninja:]

Immersion heaters for showers, in this day and age, are the work of lazy-ass landlords and Beezlebub. Go leccy!

Make sure the walls aren't paper-thin i.e. you don't want to hear your housemate giving it loads to some byore on a weeknight, now do you?

On the same note, NEVER MOVE IN WITH A COUPLE!! If there's a split / serious fight, at the very least you'll be caught in the middle, at worst you'll have to cover the cost of the departee. Speaking from experience on this one :mad:

Make sure the hobs work.

Unless it's a major requirement, I'd avoid having a landline. Temptation's a bast.

Confirm that the shower door keeps the water in. Wee against it to make sure.

Make sure that the fridge can hold at least 6 cans in the door alone. This is vital. Keep your head.

Best of luck seamus...and may God have mersy on your soul!

irlirishkev · 02-03-2004 06:39PM

Jeez I wish I'd something like that before I moved into the place I'm in now..
If I were you Seamus, I'd make mental notes, rather than carry something like that around with you, otherwise you'll look a bit mental

Something I discovered - Check to see to what extent cupboards are shared. If you all share the same cupboards, others will eat your food. Others will not replace your food. In fact this is something you must bear in mind at all times. Likewise, shelves in the fridge. If they're shared, others will eat your food. Others will not replace your food.

Conition of pots and pans, says a lot about the tenants. As do stains on countertops/couches etc.. bearing in mind, when you visit, it's probably going to be cleaner than it usually is!

I probably sound a bit anal, but trust me, these things will get to you in time..

Best of luck.
PS - Fireplaces can cause draughts.
PPS - Others will eat and not replace your food.

sunbeam · 02-03-2004 07:16PM

If an ad for shared accommodation doesn't specify don't forget to check if it is a smoking or non-smoking household (unless it doesn't bother you one way or the other).

If you are considering sharing with the house owner (especially if you will be the only tenant) I would ask about their views on guests, use of household facilities (washing machine, phone etc.) and whether they are ok with you being around at weekends. The vast majority will be probably ok with the above, but I've had the misfortune of living with one who wasn't-and I didn't find out until I moved in.

Alas I also found out that the heating didn't automatically come on in the mornings-there was a switch in her bedroom and she usually got up several hours after me-so that would be another thing to check.

seamus · 02-03-2004 08:14PM

Originally posted by irlirishkev
Something I discovered - Check to see to what extent cupboards are shared. If you all share the same cupboards, others will eat your food. Others will not replace your food. In fact this is something you must bear in mind at all times. Likewise, shelves in the fridge. If they're shared, others will eat your food. Others will not replace your food.

I'm going to rent a one bedroom place or share a two bed with a good mate, so most of the sharing concerns don't really come into it for me. If he does something that pisses me off, he'll hear all about, and ditto for me.
I know from years in the scouts that findign somebody who's 'compatible' to share a living space with is close to impossible.

Lafortezza · 03-03-2004 11:03AM

Originally posted by Epitaph

Unless it's a major requirement, I'd avoid having a landline. Temptation's a bast.

Confirm that the shower door keeps the water in. Wee against it to make sure.

You could wee against the door to check the seal, or maybe just turn on the shower head!?
Avoid any landline. Especially if shared with women. Just stick to your mobile.

I've always shared with people I knew previously, and I've never had many problems. But people are always different when you are sharing living space. Have a good long think about what a particular person will be like to live with. Are they fussy over tidyness, what are they like with money, cleaning, sharing food. Will they be reasonable over sharing bills. How anal are you about the above?

I've never shared with strangers. If you do make sure you always have a lock on your door. They might be nice people but they will get curious and have a root around your room if the door is open and you're away.

Check the surrounding area before you decide to move in. You might think that the gaff is perfect because its right beside your bus stop to work. But you need to think about what else it is near. Supermarket, dry cleaners, video shop, nitelinks, a nice local pub, etc.

If you find a nice plae with people already there who have one free room, make sure you quiz them on everything thats important to you. Don't think "nice gaff, I want it" and not think about the people you're sharing with.
Are there any couples? how many people total? any students? what do the people work at (late nights or 9-5)? are they party animals? smokers? etc.

If its a very nice place and the people seem nice then get some references from previous landlords or people you've shared with.

uberwolf · 03-03-2004 12:22PM

Originally posted by lafortezza
If its a very nice place and the people seem nice then get some references from previous landlords or people you've shared with.

I'm thinking of the rental market for myself next year and what you've said interests me, is it a buyers market like that? you can take your time, get references, contemplate etc. I know you don't want to end up in the wrong place but can you afford to take your time or can you afford not to take your time even if it means losing the occasional place?

Lafortezza · 03-03-2004 12:32PM

Originally posted by uberwolf
I'm thinking of the rental market for myself next year and what you've said interests me, is it a buyers market like that? you can take your time, get references, contemplate etc. I know you don't want to end up in the wrong place but can you afford to take your time or can you afford not to take your time even if it means losing the occasional place?

Nah, its more like that if you find the perfect place for yourself, get references to increase your chances of getting it! These days alot of landlords leave finding a new tenant to the current people living there. When I was searching and renting a year or two ago it was definitely a "sellers" market. You'd have 20 people queuing to look at a room in an apartment, many of them with deposit and 1 months rent clutched in their sweaty little hands, and ready to hand it over if the place was decent.

I think the preferred tenant for landlords/people letting is single white female, non-smoking, professional, quiet. No harm if she's from the country, goes home to Galway every weekend, and has no friends in Dublin (if thats where the property is).
References may get you an edge over other people when there's lots of people trying to get the apartment/whatever.

Dr. Loon · 03-03-2004 12:40PM

When you move into a new place. The minute you get in, go around and take pictures - with a time/date stamp - of any damge such as broken tiles, or cracked tiles or windows. Cracked bath/sink etc. If the cooker is a hob job, turn on all 4 rings and make sure they light. Take a picture. Any stains on the carpet. Rising damp. Cracks in the ceiling. Broken radiator knob/turny on things. Take a picture. Take pictures of absolutely everything that could possibly be questioned. You get the idea.

Most decent landlords/estate agents should have an inventory for you to check and sign. If they don't make one up yourself and have them sign it as well.

If me and a mate did this when we moved into our first gaff, we would've gotten our deposit back. The satanic bítch of a land lady claimed we'd done numerous things we didn't.

We did this when we moved into our second place, and got our deposit back. Although there was no need to produce the photos.

Don't forget to facor in waste charges if you're in an apartment block.

That's all I can think of.

Victor · 03-03-2004 07:57PM

Fire escape.

Are there security grilles on windows (not permitted on bedroom windows)? Why?

Safe parking / storage.

Lucutus · 05-03-2004 02:28AM

/me lights a match...

Victor · 05-03-2004 10:03PM

/me dribbles petrol throught the floor boards to your flat.

07-03-2004 02:00PM

Originally posted by Dr. Loon
When you move into a new place. The minute you get in, go around and take pictures - with a time/date stamp - of any damge such as broken tiles, or cracked tiles or windows. ...

Excellent points - this might sound rather harsh thing to do, but my mate now is being tortured by his prev landlord asking him to pay the bills for new carpet and for the washing machine repairs that landlord paid for earlier during his stay there.

My mate finished his one year contract at that place and decided to move on, but landlord wouldn’t return the one month rent deposit (1200 yo yos) and on top of that he is asking my mate to pay to him for new carpet, new bed/set and for a washing machine repair – In fact, when he moved in, there were no bed linen, quilts or what so ever in the apartment, washing machine was fixed two months after my mate complained its totally not working, and the contract clearly says landlord will fix or replace the appliances if broken down!

They both have their solicitor doing all the talking now – looks like it’s going to get dirty.

ykt0di9url7bc3 · 12-03-2004 02:18PM

Originally posted by Victor

Washing machine. Microwave.

for more than 3 people, the size of the kitchen counts a lot...

you may be waiting for a while to use much needed facilities, think of 8 people trying to use a kitchen the size of a small bath room

a dryer is a much over looked convienience (sp?)

spongebob · 14-03-2004 12:03AM

Originally posted by Dr. Loon
When you move into a new place. The minute you get in, go around and take pictures - with a time/date stamp - of any damge such as broken tiles, or cracked tiles or windows. Cracked bath/sink etc. If the cooker is a hob job, turn on all 4 rings and make sure they light. Take a picture. Any stains on the carpet. Rising damp. Cracks in the ceiling. Broken radiator knob/turny on things. Take a picture. Take pictures of absolutely everything that could possibly be questioned. You get the idea.

Most decent landlords/estate agents should have an inventory for you to check and sign. If they don't make one up yourself and have them sign it as well.

amen!

M

full forward · 16-03-2004 02:23PM

Pay the rent on time every month. Don’t be a minute late. Being late with the rent makes landlords nervous. Most landlords must pay a mortgage and your rent is used for this. No rent means no mortgage. The landlord will like you and trust you and is more likely to give you all of your deposit back when you move out of you pay on time.

With regards to carpets - expect to pay up if you spill red wine or coffee on a white carpet. Try to clean it yourself first though. Cigarette burns on furniture are expensive accidents.

Landlords are in the business of making money. They are not St Vincent de Paul.

If you have a dispute with the landlord use the small claims court. Most landlords wont bother to show up which means you win.

I've lived in five different rented houses. Most landlords are ordinary decent people who are terrified that they will get bad tenants.

leeroybrown · 16-03-2004 02:49PM

Whenever I go to see a place (or show a place) I always make a point of talking to whoever is there for a few minutes. I've been both the landlord and tenant and in both cases it's good to try to see what the people are like. You'll go mad if you end up living with people you find annoying.

I always ask how much the bills (Elec, Gas/Oil, etc) normally are throughout the year when I view a place. It's nice to know that you're not moving into a bill nightmare.

I like your checklist idea. Whenever I've rented I've always done up a Pro's - Con's list for the places I've viewed and found it a very good to decide if you 're really getting what you want/need.

I think it's generally worth being patient until you find the right place (if you have the option). It's better in the long run.

Sleepy · 24-03-2004 07:17PM

If it's not obvious from the layout, ask if there are en-suites on any of the rooms. If there are 4 of you in the house and 1 has an en-suite that cuts it to only 3 of you sharing a bathroom in the morning.

Is the TV Cable/Digital/RTE Only? This'll effect the bills massively.

When's bin day? First apartment I stayed in we didn't know until 2/3 weeks worth of crap were building up in the yard.

Victor · 07-09-2004 02:36PM

Bump.

Any more comments?

jd · 15-09-2004 07:42AM

Epitaph wrote:

On the same note, NEVER MOVE IN WITH A COUPLE!!

Bumped for emphasis- the voice of experience.. Especially if the woman is pregnant..

martarg · 15-09-2004 08:31AM

Among the wonderful advice and suggestions I got from this board,

one I hadn't thought about, but check that there are no fire stations or ambulance routes nearby... and this might be asking a lot of questions, but who are your neighbours? Any babies or college students? (this may be a good or a bad thing depending on who you are, but I am past the age of joining wild college parties I can't beat

...)
Apart from that, making sure the place has enough storage room, and little details like a window in the kitchen and/or a smoke extractor, enough lighting, plenty of sockets in the right places, a comfortable couch...

Another link...

http://txtx.essortment.com/apartmentrentin_rvru.htm

luckat · 26-11-2004 09:00PM

You're terrifying me, because sometimes I rent rooms in my beloved house, to (usually) beloved students of English.

Are they weeing against my shower curtains when I'm not home? Are they contemptuously photographing the broken tiles in my fireplace, and wobbling the iffy window to see could burglars get in? Are they going "pshaw" at my old-fashioned immersion heater and hotpress?

Ewww.

Civilian_Target · 01-01-2005 05:51PM

Epitaph wrote:

Make sure the walls aren't paper-thin i.e. you don't want to hear your housemate giving it loads to some byore on a weeknight, now do you?

Hear hear! - that's the worst situation, especially if they're going like rabbits 4+ times a week.

And make sure that your house mates are approachable enough to deal with a situation like that if it arises too - my priorities would be:

1 - Location
2 - Sound housemates
3 - Decent house

Theres no point in having sound housemates and a decent house if you spend 2 hours a day commuting - you'll just be miserable...

el tel · 16-05-2005 05:10PM

I've seen loads of twin rooms for sharing advertised on daft.ie.
I couldn't imagine anything worse than moving into a room that
already has a human inhabitantliving there.

peteym · 08-05-2006 02:10PM

hi folks- hopefully somebody on here can help me......... I'm planning to live in Dublin City for June, July and August. Because it's only for 3 months I'm not having any success in finding places for that length of time. It's a one bed flat/apartment I'm looking for. I was told I could sign a 6 months/1 year lease and that it would be in my rights to opt out before 6 months and just give the landlord a months notice. Am I entitled to do that and would I get my deposit back???

Victor · 08-05-2006 04:18PM

A 6-month lease is a 6-month lease. They will try to screw you for any part of the period you don't want to pay for.

Potentially, agree with them that you will take a 3-month lease, but will let them set the ball rolling on getting a new tenant in place for the day after you move out, i.e. you will facilitate viewings, etc.

Alternatively, try to sub-let from a student who has a one year lease and is away for the summer.

tman · 17-05-2006 07:35AM

martarg wrote:

Apart from that, making sure the place has enough storage room, and little details like a window in the kitchen and/or a smoke extractor, enough lighting, plenty of sockets in the right places, a comfortable couch...

i can't stress how important that is
i've been living in my current flat for 2 years now and the lack of light in the sitting room is horribly depressing. make sure there are no pillars etc that could possibly block light coming through the windows

james_d_23 · 31-05-2006 07:54PM

im (hopefully) goin to be moving into a rented house with 3 friends for next years college term and was wondering where's the best place to find properties, most people say the internet and if so do any of you know any good sites?

dcu recommended findahome.ie but its not working at the mo for some reason..
I realise im early but i want to know what im doing well in advance, also when do you think would be a good time to start looking, dont want to move in too early but dont want all the decent places gone at the same time.. cheers..

addie · 01-06-2006 01:43PM

james_d_23 wrote:

im (hopefully) goin to be moving into a rented house with 3 friends for next years college term and was wondering where's the best place to find properties, most people say the internet and if so do any of you know any good sites?

dcu recommended findahome.ie but its not working at the mo for some reason..
I realise im early but i want to know what im doing well in advance, also when do you think would be a good time to start looking, dont want to move in too early but dont want all the decent places gone at the same time.. cheers..

daft.ie is hands-down the best place to look. Most landlords only advertise places a fortnight to a month in advance, so if you give yourself one month to look before you need to move in you'll have plenty of time. There's no harm in researching now and keeping an eye on prices in the areas you're interested in, so that you don't rush into anything and end up paying over the odds for the first place that comes along.

In terms of things to look for when viewing places- ventilation!! Especially if you're renting a small flat or sharing with a few people- a vent in every room will help prevent the place from becoming stuffy / damp / musty / smelly.

And ALWAYS keep an eye out for signs of damp; investigate inside wardrobes and behind any furniture that's pressed against walls, run your hand over walls and see if they feel cold or clammy. Air freshners are often a tell-tale sign that the smell of damp is being masked, especially if they're in unusual places. Some landlords will simply paint over damp before renting to a new tenant. So ask straight out when viewing a property if there are any problems with damp.

If damp or any other health hazard arise in a property where you're a tenant you are entitled to vacate without giving notice and have your deposit refunded immediately.

D'Peoples Voice · 01-09-2006 05:40PM

According to the following document (which Union of Students in Ireland IIRC for some reason DO NOT GIVE to students)
http://www.prtb.ie/DownloadDocs/Residential%20Tenancies%20Act%202004%20-%20A%20Quick%20Guide.doc

full forward wrote:

If you have a dispute with the landlord use the small claims court. Most landlords wont bother to show up which means you win.

Quote from page 6-> Disputes arising between landlords and tenants are generally to be referred to the PRTB instead of the courts. Examples of disputes that will be dealt with by the Board include issues relating to; deposit refunds, breaches of tenancy obligations, lease terms, termination of tenancies, market rent, rent arrears, complaints by neighbours regarding tenant behaviour, etc.

Victor wrote:

If you are likely to be staying for only a short time, explain this to your landlord. If you sign a one-year lease, the landlord can hold you to it.

Not if you give the required amount of notice-> see page 5
Quote from Page 9 -> A tenancy agreement or lease cannot take away from rights and obligations provided for in the Residential Tenacies Act 2004 and if it purports to do so, that provision is rendered void. The landlord or tenant cannot contract, or be contracted, out of the rights or obligations of the Act.
Therefore if you are entitled to give notice and leave thereafter, then my interpretation is that the landlord cannot make you pay for the remaining part of the lease.

Always ensure that your landlord is registered, in my experience there is less chance of your landlord being a conman!

The Boards.ie Quick and Dirty Renting Guide

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