Letting a room to a student: Ease the housing crisis, meet new people, and get a tax break

Margaret O’Gorman has great memories of renting a room — but she was the lodger rather than the landlord, having rented with a family when she moved to Dublin to work more than 30 years ago.

She really enjoyed the experience and thinks it is the “best idea for young people leaving home”. But now, as her daughter gets ready to leave the nest for the first time, it is “nearly impossible” to find something similar.

“I moved up to Dublin when I was 22 after getting a job in the bank,” she says. “Coming from a small place in the west of Ireland, I wasn’t used to being in the city on my own so my parents found me some lodgings with a family. It was absolutely ideal as I had plenty of freedom and independence but I also had the security and comfort of a family house, as well as company, if I needed it.

I don’t know if it has gone out of fashion, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone renting rooms out

“I’m now in the situation where my daughter is heading off to Cork to do a course in September and we can’t find anywhere for her to stay. There doesn’t seem to be anything available at all and initially when I suggested the idea of ‘digs’ she nearly had a fit. She said that she would hate living with someone else as [she] would have no independence or privacy. But as the weeks went on and the date for her leaving home started getting nearer, she has started to panic a bit and agreed to look into the idea of lodging somewhere — but we can’t seem to find anything.

Four-bed period house and mews a short walk from Greystones for €975,000

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“I don’t know if it has gone out of fashion or if people these days think more along the lines of my daughter, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone renting rooms out. We will continue to look as, if I’m honest, this would be my preference as I would not be happy with her living in student accommodation. But in the meantime, I’ve rented a place in a small town outside the city and will move down myself for the first month or two, so I can drive her into college in the mornings. Hopefully then, once she has settled in, she will have met people who might know of someone renting a room.”

Yes, despite the much publicised housing shortage and a cost of living crisis, homeowners appear reluctant to take in students this autumn.

[ Students warned of bogus landlords as search for accommodation begins ]

[ Students sleeping rough or couch-surfing, say student leaders, as accommodation crisis worsens ]

[ Number of homeless in State hits record high ]

Once, renting a room for months or even years at a time was commonplace. Finding lodgings or “digs” these days is not as easy as it used to be.

This is despite the fact that it’s possible to earn up to €14,000 a year tax free through the rent a room scheme (earnings above that are taxed at normal income tax rates).

In Limerick, as in other college towns and cities across the country, the drop in digs/homestay-type accommodation has further exacerbated student accommodation shortages.

Sheena Doyle, head of external communications at the University of Limerick, says the decline in this type of housing is down to the Covid-19 pandemic. To offset this, the college is working with its HEI partners, Mary Immaculate College and the Technological University of the Shannon, Midlands and Midwest, on an advertising campaign to encourage local homeowners in the Limerick area to rent rooms in their homes to Limerick higher education students.

After all, there are clear advantages — financial and otherwise — in doing so.

Living in Dublin 16, Jennifer Swaine, the group and marketing manager for Oslo salons, has been letting out a room in her house for the past few years. She says it is a great way of making a bit of extra income and that she really enjoys meeting new people.

“I started renting rooms out to students in the summer of 2019 because I had neighbours doing it and they highly recommended it,” she says. “In the beginning, I needed to give the students breakfast and dinner, but now I have a 30 year old [staying in the house] who does all her own cooking and looks after herself, which is great.

“Just before Covid hit, I had an Italian student who my 12-year-old son loved and [although he is no longer with us] we still keep in touch — and my current student is a gorgeous Japanese girl who is also really great with my son. So, I think it is really great for kids to meet people from different cultures.”

The mother of one says people can make up to €150 per week per student and many accommodate more than one in order to boost their income. But as she works full time and many of the students are still young, she isn’t in a position to open her home to them.

She has only had positive experiences and says others may also find it beneficial.

However, she would advise anyone thinking of renting out a room to let their lodgers know exactly what is expected of them from the outset.

“I think it [renting a room] is in decline as people just don’t like the idea of strangers in their house — I feel there is a stigma around it for some reason,” she says. “Also, there is a commitment if you have to cook or do anything for them. But I moved away from these type of [more dependent] students as I just don’t have the time as a single working mom.

I have neighbours who have students all the time and use the money for holidays or home improvements

“However, for people who are at home full time, I think it is a great way to earn extra money from your home. But I would advise them to go through a school or college as they will have back up if there are any issues. Also, you need to lay down house rules from the start so there are no issues — and it’s a good idea to have a break between students so you don’t get tired of it.

“Mind you, I have neighbours who have students all the time and use the money for holidays or home improvements. So, if you have a spare bedroom, I think it’s a great way to earn extra money — and you get used to it [the whole set up] pretty fast.”

Someone else with a positive experience of letting out a room is Phil Quinlan.

With his wife Helena, he has hosted paying guests for several years, taking in foreign students in order to make ends meet. The couple, who have two children, say that while financial reward is the main reason to take in lodgers, it is also a great way to meet new people.

“We started taking students from 2008 onwards,” he says. “At first, it was because we wanted the extra income — we were given a set rate for students which was around €100 per week. But I’m also very outgoing , so would relish the opportunity to chance my arm in a foreign language — and I really wanted my kids to experience this too.

“Also, in reality, there was very little involved apart from making lunches and putting a few extra spuds in the pot for dinner. We have a three-bedroom house [in Navan] so we moved our eldest into the small box-room and she loved being on a blow-up bed next to her brother’s bed.

“Our first [lodger] was a student leader who was older and more responsible, so we could give her a key and let her do her own thing. Her English was brilliant and being in her 30s, she was one of the best — we only needed to collect her at night-time.

“I work as an SNA so get the summer off, and Helena was working in Drogheda in fund administration, so was usually home at 6pm [so there were no issues with us not being at home] — but, to be honest, the students usually preferred spending hours texting mates in their bedroom rather than talking to us.”

The father of two says they made the decision to stop taking in students about three or four years ago when their daughter needed her bedroom back as she got older. But they have long-term plans to build a downstairs bedroom as he has mobility issues and this, he says, may free up another bedroom upstairs which could see them opening their doors to students again.

“We have had a few brilliant students over the years, many of whom really loved our kids and would play with them every evening in an effort to learn English,” he says. “Our favourite student invited us to stay with her parents the summer after she left, and we were all treated like royalty.

“I’d definitely do it again if we ever get to build on our downstairs bedroom as I think it’s a very positive experience for our kids — I’ve always loved new cultures, having grown up abroad and hopefully, once we have it built, when they’re both teenagers, we’ll house the next Xabi Alonso — the footballing legend.

“It has been a positive experience all round.”

Rooms for sale

· Double bedroom near DCU; Monday-Friday; €210/week

· Double room in Glasheen, Cork; Monday-Friday; breakfast only; €125/week

· Double room in Dundrum, Dublin; Monday-Friday; breakfast and dinner; €750/month

· Single room in Renmore, Galway city; breakfast and dinner; €160/week

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