chaikhosi

Looks like I've got a move to Dublin coming up this summer, and I'll need a two bed place (for me, wife and toddler). I've been looking at rental properties and while I always knew it would be pricey, I'm surprised by the low numbers of places available. On daft.ie I've only seen a couple of hundred ads, and I expected thousands.

Is there a trick to this that I'm missing? Perhaps some commuter towns that don't show up well on the websites (I see there's no browse-the-map search option like you get on Rightmove back home)? What do ordinary Irish people with Dublin jobs do?

OrangeMango

The rental market in and around Dublin seems something between tough and impossible and even with luck one won't find a decent place. Choice seems limited and rents are either sky high, viewings are taking place together with many different interested parties, letting agents seem overworked and overrun, and rental properties are only on the market for a very limited time. Even though the Irish are nice and likable people with an easy going mentality the landlords seem rather greedy behind a nice and likable facade.
I was in Dublin in 2017 and was utterly shocked about the rental market. I found it totally impossible to find a decent place, and decided in the end to leave Dublin all together, even though the job offer was with a rather reputable organization.

It's 2019 now and maybe things changed for the better. Unless the market has eased, please refer to previous thread:
Renting in Dublin?

May you have better luck than myself.

Since you asked, what ordinary people are doing in Dublin? - Honestly I don't really know how they are getting by these days. Those who didn't want to live in shared housing were commuting by car for 1.5 hours one way on a daily basis.

Many US multinational companies mainly in the IT sector are settling in Dublin, often for tax reasons, brining jobs, however there is no housing. Many people are living in shared accomodation, and even this is difficult to get and only available via some facebook groups. On top of that even a basic salary of 55K only allows a rather meager living in Dublin. US multinationals don't really care about their employees housing issues, they are only in Dublin for tax reasons and paying less tax.

Moses2013

I can assure you that it's still the same or even worse. Maybe the EU should follow this model https://www.euractiv.com/section/eco...ousing-crisis/ but a country like Belgium for example can't be compared with Ireland, so each country needs different solutions rather than one whole solution. Renting is still new in this country and the government need to find solutions but it could take years. Shifting some jobs away from Dublin would be a solution but even then you still need rental units. Where we live you won't even see apartments and most have more land than they need, but then again that opens loads of new business opportunities. Just down the road there's a 5 bedroom house that's been empty for years but the seller wants 100K and a lot of work needed. Technically you could make 3 apartments out of it and each person would have their own garden but most people here can't see the potential or aren't bothered and I just don't have the money. People have other ideas here
Planning permission is being sought by Athenry Dog Park Committee for a dog park on a 0.52 hectare site at Knockaunglass field on the Esker Road in Athenry.

The developer was granted the use of this field by Athenry Community Council to create an area “where dogs can socialise, exercise, and play as well as provide an area where dog owners can socialise”.

OrangeMango

Finding work in the Republic of Ireland while being overseas is relatively easy. Once a job is offered in form of a contract, many newcomers to Ireland have no real idea what awaits them in terms of housing, especially rental property.

On the other side, I think Dublin is still relatively cheap regarding buying a property, at least compared to London or Munich. One would however have to have own finances, not a mortgage and would have to be prepared to buy straight after arrival in the country. Understandably, few are happy to do that.

Moses2013

Finding work is not the problem, even here in the West. Even when I was in the UK or Germany over 10 years ago it wasn't easy to find housing to rent.
We spent a few weeks in a hotel, or had to spend £190 a week for a studio that wasn't bigger than our greenhouse today, did house shares, so it was never really any different. Of course it depends on the location and it's all about supply and demand, but we were in the exact same situation back then. It was one of the reasons we came to Ireland, so we could finally escape the rental market and buy are own home at an affordable price.

jonboy

Is it the tax that a landlord would be liable for that stifles the desire to let out a property or is it the the contractual obligations? I cannot imagine much else holding them back, although I appreciate that historically Landlords are seen as undesirable.

Moses2013

There seems to be many credits and reliefs, so I think it's more down to the fact that there just aren't enough purpose built apartments. Rent a room relief is another thing they added, so they can get more landlords.
If you rent out a room or flat in your home you are exempt from income tax on the amount that your tenant pays you for rent and other services, up to €14,000 in a tax year. The relief applies only to residential tenancies, not to short-term guest arrangements. The relief can also apply to a self-contained unit (such as a basement flat) if it is part of, or is directly attached to, your home. You are not eligible for Rent-a-room relief if you are renting the room to an adult child.

OrangeMango

Shared housing is no choice for me, no matter if I am owner or tenant. However it's unfortunately the only choice for many thousands of tenants in Dublin.

Brexit uncertainties seem to put a bit of a dent in the Dublin housing market, at the moment. Rents for one bedroom apartments are still astronomical.