# Subletting a room in an apt for 2 nights a week?



## beffers (12 May 2011)

I have a few questions on how this would work works.

I am currently looking to rent an apartment in Dublin. I want a 2 bed apt, but the high prices mean that I may have to settle for a one bed place. Then I heard that a co worker of a family member will be looking to rent a room for the 2 nights a week that he is in Dublin for his job. 

I am now thinking of getting a 2 bed place, and using the money from him to pay for if not all the additional rent, at least a large part of it. My sister can vouch for her friend, so I am not worried on that score. But I am curious as to how it all works, before I take the plunge and make the suggestion to him.

1. Legally, do I have to let my landlord know what I am doing?

2. Are there any boards that I have to register with, or fees to pay? I want to do everything above board. I will not be looking to do this on a permanent basis, just for the year or so that we both need accommodation in Dublin.

3. Is there a set format for how the rent paid by him is calculated? It doesn't seem fair to divide the monthly rent by 30/31 days and charge him pro rated amount for each night he is under my roof, as he will have the much smaller bedroom of the two in the apt.

4. How are cable TV, internet, ESB/gas bills calculated for him, or would his share of them be included in the rent that he pays me?

5. If the arrangement does not work out, and I need to give him his marching orders, what are his rights? It is normal to put things in writing with a lease? Should his name be on the lease that I sign with my landlord? 

Both of us have personal and professional lives that are kind of up in the air right now. We are happy with the lack of long term permanence that the arrangement would give us, but I still want to protect my self.

6. The rent on the 2 bedroom place would be approx 1,200 to 1,400 euros per month. What do you think I would make off that renting out a room for 2 nights a week?

Thanks for any advice offered. 

(Hope it is ok to ask this here. Was not sure if it belonged here, or in the other management companies/apartments thread)


ETA: As per post below, I this will not be participating in a Rent A Room scheme, I will be subletting. Given that, any feedback to the above questions would still be appreciated. Thanks.


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## shesells (12 May 2011)

Your thread title is misleading in that it infers that your query relates to the Rent a Room scheme for owner occupiers, in fact you are asking about sub-letting.

Most landlords will have clauses in the lease prohibiting sub-letting...some of the reasons why are referred to on this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056266076


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## beffers (13 May 2011)

Thanks for that. Sorry, I did not know that the Rent A Room scheme was only for owner occupiers.

Would edit the thread title, but the edit tab just gives me the option to edit the text of my post, not the title. Sorry for any confusion.


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## Bronte (13 May 2011)

beffers said:


> Thanks for that. Sorry, I did not know that the Rent A Room scheme was only for owner occupiers.
> 
> Would edit the thread title, but the edit tab just gives me the option to edit the text of my post, not the title. Sorry for any confusion.


 
Go into edit and there is another button called advanced that should let you change the title as it certainly is confusing.

Personally I'm absolutely gobsmacked at the level of rent one has to pay in Dublin.


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## truthseeker (13 May 2011)

Bronte said:


> Personally I'm absolutely gobsmaked at the level of rent one has to pay in Dublin.


 
That is a pretty shocking amount of rent quoted, OP I am quite sure you can get a 2 bed place for a lot less. A friend rents out a spacious city centre 2 bed apartment for just under 1000 a month, and I live in a surburban 2 bed apartment, of which neighbouring ones are rented out for circa 800 a month.


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## beffers (13 May 2011)

It may seem a lot, but that seems par for the course for the IFSC/Grand Canal Dock areas. If we live there, we could both walk to work in 5 mins, and not have the expense of having to own and run a car, or even have to take the DART/Luas/bus to work. So that would be big savings that we could put towards our rent.


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## millieforbes (13 May 2011)

You could hopefully negotiate a bit on the rent and maybe get it for a little lower than 1200. I think if you looked 5/10 minutes walk further towards Ringsend or closer to the Point you might get a big 2 bed for a little cheaper than Grand canal or spencer dock. Keep an eye out for apartments in windmill lane or trinity square area as they are older and tend to be cheaper.

I think you need to decide for yourself what seems reasonable for 2 nights accomodation - think about what the costs would be for the friend otherwise - what would their travel costs be etc. this might give you a good idea of what would be reasonable. 

I think if they were in the smaller room full time it would probably be fair to split the rent 60/40 or 55/45 depending on how much smaller it is and divide bills 50/50

I would then reduce their rent to 2 sevenths of this amount. It might be easier to add a fixed amount for bills then rather than have to derive some complex way to allocate costs


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## Bronte (13 May 2011)

1200 buys a lot of mortgage, have you considered that.  How much are apartments in that area?


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## beffers (14 May 2011)

Yeah, a year from now I expect to be buying something, somewhere. But for now we both need to rent something temporary due to a variety of personal and work reasons. Neither of us know if we will still be living in Dublin a year from now. Hence our renting.


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## beffers (14 May 2011)

Found the perfect apt for the perfect price today. Not only is it considerably under our 1,200 budget, it comes with a much sought after parking space at no extra charge. Only thing is, it is not in move in shape. 

The previous tenant was there 4 years, and the landlord has done nothing to get it ready for a new tenant. The bedroom carpets are filthy, the rooms are all in serious need of a paint job, the bathroom and kitchen tile work look manky & the living room sofa is a health hazard. 

The landlord says that I can buy new sofa and deduct the cost from my rent, get the place painted and have the cost taken out of rent, and also have the carpets cleaned & yep, you guessed it, have the cost taken out of the rent. 

If he is legit & follows thru on his word, this is a win win for me, as I get to choose new furniture and the colour of the walls. But if he is not, I am screwed and locked into living in a dump for a year. This all seems very, very unorthodox to me & quite risky. When I mentioned how odd the situation seemed, he said that wanted to get the place listed as soon as possible. He said that he has found in the past that tenants prefer to be involved in doing the work, picking out furniture and wall colours etc etc and getting a break on the rent, than if he does it all himself before hand. I find that hard to believe. Who wants to move, and then have the hassle of looking thru the Golden Pages for carpet cleaners and painters?

What do people think...walk away, or take him up on his offer? Is there a way to insert clauses into the lease setting out the decorating & financial promises that he made me? I am reluctant to walk and take the 'plenty of other fish in the sea' approach, as it has already taken me a lot of leg work to find something for such a great price in this location. 

Thanks.


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## Bronte (16 May 2011)

beffers said:


> . Who wants to move, and then have the hassle of looking thru the Golden Pages for carpet cleaners and painters?
> 
> .


  Probably why the landlord would prefer you to do it.  I know landlords like this.  To cover yourself, if you are going to do it you'd want to have a set agreement in relation to amounts.  You just write it into the lease with a biro.  

Did the landlord ask you for receipts for the paint etc?  If not probably he's not declaring the rent for tax purposes.  

Would you not prefer to stay in digs or rent a room for the year and save the money you make to put towards your property purchase?


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## millieforbes (16 May 2011)

perhaps you could compromise on the landlord paying for the cleaning and painting directly and you could do the furniture bit and deduct as he said. a bit of a pain if you needed to arrange quite a few things and negotiate with him or confirm for each item on the list

alternatively other apartments in the same block might come up for rent soon


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