House Share Co-living

Hi,
I have a property currently being renovated and it has 5 bed ensuites. I am currently thinking of looking at renting out on a per room basis and including heat, electricity and broadband. I hope to finish to to a high standard and hopefully will rent to prospective tenants who want this co-living type house..

Hope I am making sense but would love to hear from any LL's here if they have done this and their experiences..

Thanking you

Build the cost of the broadband into the rent, keep the the gas and electric in your name, you pay the bills but tenants pay you, sign up for paperless billing.When the bills arrive, download a copy, attach to an email and forward to all tenants with a breakdown - 350 bill/ 5 tenants = 70 each kind of thing.
Set up an excel sheet for keeping track of everything.

Consider good sound proofing for floors and partitions if you're still renovating.

We don't have a HMO standard in Ireland though I believe we should.

Personally, I'd include heat & light in the rent; but on a fair use basis. So allow (say) €75 per head, but reserve the right to bill if its significantly higher.

Get two fridge freezers and make sure everyone has adequate cupboard space in the kitchen - one base cupboard, one wall cupboard per person.

If you have space, two tumble dryers are also a good idea.

Consider a covered drying space outside; think about parking and / or bike storage.

Paint all the walls the same white as the ceiling - quicker to redecorate.

Make sure you use mattress protectors and replace them for each tenant.

Get the open ring type curtains, regular rails and hooks will drive you mad. I'm a fan of venetian blinds also as they are easily replaced and less dated than nets.

Clean out the shower drains and use drain cleaner on all the showers and basins every 3 months.

Make sure you have smoke alarms and a fire blanket & extingusher in the kitchen.

Finally, remember your max tax free under rent-a-room is €14k per annum.

It would best to find one tenant who is there for the long term and can act as a kind of 'agent' for you in return for cheaper rent. They would take the lead on finding and vetting new tenants, and make sure other tenants are pulling their weight.

Otherwise it is very hard to find and vet new tenants. In this end of the market it could be every six months. There will inevitably be disputes and blame about issues, and as landlord you don't want to be the adjudicator. Shared bills would be a nightmare with five occupants. Provide an 'all-in' package subject to fair use on electricity and gas.

In this kind of set-up you would do very well to have two fridges and maybe a second washing machine too.

I wouldn't do this set up if I wasn't on the premises. As a house share your tenants are guests and you can ask them to leave.

First problem would be to find out what fair usage electricity and gas are,considering it's a new let, you could be overcharging or undercharging until
you get an idea of what an average bill is.
Agree with the two fridges.
I

Thirsty said:

Finally, remember your max tax free under rent-a-room is €14k per annum.

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It doesn't sound like the OP is planning on living in the property, if that' the case, rent-a-room will not apply.

Multiple tenants in a single property can get messy from an RTB perspective. If the property is leased to a single tenant who then sub-lets the other rooms, the lease with that first tenant is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, but those subsequent sublets don't and are outside of the RTB remit. The situation isn't really dealt with in legislation.

@Leo which is why I wouldn't do it if I wasn't living there!

Thirsty said:

@Leo which is why I wouldn't do it if I wasn't living there!

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Exactly, me neither!

Marantz said:

Consider good sound proofing for floors and partitions if you're still renovating.

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Thanks Marantz....have 18mm OSB board on the floors and plan to put plywood on the studs along the landing and then slab with fireboard..The reason of the ply is to help with soundproof and hopefully stop anyone kicking in the plasterslab... I am looking to see what to put on top of the OSB...must see if there is any type of corkboard that would help with soundproofing

Thanks for the valuable feedback...I will look at 2 fridges , 2 washing machines and also cupboard space for each tenant "(lockable")..Will also have a covered area outside for drying clothes, storing bikes and refuse..I dont plan to live in the house...I hope to include broadband, electricity, heating and refuse and agree as regards a fair usage policy. However I think a deposit for utilities would have to be taken to ensure tenant doesnt leg it and not pay the difference if there is a shortfall on the utilities..Thinking of putting TVs in bedrooms. All rooms are ensuite. Networking house...not sure about any of the smart home technologies if they are worth considering for a rental..

lonelyplanet said:

Thinking of putting TVs in bedrooms.

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Let those renting supply their own. You supply them, you're responsible when they break down.

Use thumb turn locks on bedroom doors, so that they can open the door without a key in an emergency situation. I think someone already mentioned fire alarms, you will need it in every bedroom.

Get a master key, so that cleaner, handyman or anyone else can open the door to fix things without your presence, think of passive not your another full-time job.

Put numbers inside cupboards and fridge/freezer, so that there is no confusion of who's space that is.

Create a group on whatsapp, so that message can be sent easily between you and the tenants, no need to ring.

No need to include bills in the rent in the current market, depends on where you are, don't think there will be issues to rent it out.

Referencing the tenant is very important.

lonelyplanet said:

dont plan to live in the house

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I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole, but if you insist, build into your calculations a healthy sum for dealing with problems.

Thanks again for your valuable input...I have heard of LLs setting up a sort of licence agreement with tenants in a house share .... My plan is that names of tenants are amended to contract when they reside there...In most properties there are multiple tenants renting. I have a property with 4 professionals and I put all their names on the contract..If someone leaves and replaced I put the new persons name on the contract. Truly appreciate your feedback....

lonelyplanet said:

Networking house...not sure about any of the smart home technologies if they are worth considering for a rental..

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Bit of a tangent but I would think not. Most of these depend in some way on smartphone apps and can get messy with different user accounts etc.