Student Special: Renting Rights & Responsibilities

Your Lease

The first and most important thing you need to do when moving into rented accommodation: Read Your Lease Agreement. Landlords aren’t legally required to give you a written contract, so always ask for one. A lease is a legally binding contract for a fixed term, usually one year, though for student accommodation it could be a nine-month lease from September to May.

Leases usually will contain important information, such as if you can terminate the tenancy early or not, and notice periods for doing so. If your lease doesn’t contain an itemised list of furniture and appliances in the house, ask for one. This will tell you what items in the property belong to it, and usually if one of these breaks, like the cooker or the washing machine, it’s your landlord’s job to replace them. Similarly, if you damage the property or anything in it, it could be on you to shoulder the replacement/repair costs, or worse.
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ack Butler is a former Resident Assistant for Campus Life Services at University of Limerick. He said a common issue was students signing their name to leases without reading them through.

“I know we’re all guilty of just clicking the ‘I have read the T&Cs’ on sites, but with things like tenancy agreements, it is extremely important that people understand what they are agreeing to,” he explained. “In some cases, there may be standing fines for certain breaches of the agreement, and they will be listed in it, and that is information you will need to be aware of.”

You should also make sure if you are renting from a private landlord (and not living in purpose-built student accommodation), that you are registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. The RTB operates Ireland’s National Tenancy Register and resolves disputes between landlords and tenants. All tenancies must, by law, be registered with the RTB. ‘Digs’, or ‘rent a room schemes’, are outside of the RTB’s jurisdiction and do not have to be registered.

Your Landlord and Rent

When you are renting, from a letting agent or a private landlord, you have certain obligations, but they also have obligations to you. Your lease is an agreement that goes both ways. You should always try to keep a civil relationship with your landlord; always make sure your rent is paid on time.

If you’re renting a place with a number of people, it’s a good idea to nominate one person to whom everyone else gives their portion of the rent, so that it all gets paid from one bank account every month (this is a good trick for bills as well). Make sure you have up-to-date contact information for your landlord, and if problems arise, notify them straight away.

A major issue Jack encountered among students in UL was their reluctance to report any issues, such as heating problems.

“Landlords have a responsibility to maintain their property to minimum housing standards,” he said, “and at the very least heating and power are necessary, so let them know ASAP when issues come up.

“Don’t antagonise the landlord: they make very good references later down the line. That said, raise issues as necessary and hold the landlord to it.”

Don’t be afraid to stand your ground with a landlord either. If they are refusing to fix an issue, keep at it. Landlords are also required to give you advanced notice of any visits they pay to the property.

Bills, bills, bills

Bills, like rent, need to be paid every month on time. Don’t take things like heating and electricity for granted: are they in your housemate’s name? Your landlords? Are they included in your rent, or do you have to pay them separately? What’s the monthly breakdown? When I moved out of my last student accommodation, there was a mix up with who was taking over paying for the bins after I left. My former housemates were left with no bin collection service, in the middle of a heatwave… It can be helpful to have all the bills registered in one person’s name and have everyone pay them each month. Make sure you pay them on time and with the right amount each month though, because it’s no fun having to hound your housemates for cash every time the internet bill needs paying.

The important thing to remember, when renting, is that you have rights and responsibilities, and you should make it your business to know them. You can find out what your rights are on the RTB website, on Citizens Information, or from Threshold, a frontline housing advice and advocacy service. Your students’ union website will also have some good advice around renting and accommodation. It can seem a bit daunting trying to figure out what you’re legally obliged and entitled to, but it’s important information that might keep a roof over your head.

“For a lot of first years, college is the first time they’ve lived away from home and that freedom can be overwhelming, but, as mom likes to say, when you’re under her roof you’re under her rules, and the same principle applies,” Jack wisely puts it. “You have the right to live there as a tenant, but you have the responsibility to follow the terms and conditions.”