Tenants renting rooms in shared flats may not have tenant rights, say rental experts – The Irish Times

People who rent rooms in a shared apartment from another tenant rather than a landlord may not enjoy the same protections as tenants who rent directly from a landlord, rental industry experts say.

In a recent judgment, a tribunal of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), which adjudicates disputes between landlords and tenants, found that a woman who was a tenant in a shared flat in Dublin 8 was not in a contractual relationship with the commercial landlord.

The woman contacted the main tenant via the social network Facebook in September 2023, which led to her moving into the apartment. The main tenant was the contact person for the landlord and collected and paid the rent of 2,023 euros per month that the landlord demanded for the two-room apartment.

The woman, who paid the main tenant 650 euros in rent per month, complained that he had “kicked her out” in January 2024 and filed a lawsuit against the landlord for wrongful eviction.

However, the landlord told the court that he was not aware that the main tenant was renting out rooms in the apartment. The court ruled that there was no rental agreement between the woman and the landlord and therefore the case did not fall within its jurisdiction.

In another recent ruling, another RTB court partially ruled in favour of two tenants who had dealt with a main tenant rather than the landlord in relation to their accommodation.

The two Brazilian women who sued the landlord rented accommodation in a four-bedroom apartment in Dublin 8 and paid their rent to the main tenant.

They were each awarded 500 euros in damages because the landlord had not given them his contact details. This, according to the court, was a violation of the Residential Tenancy Act.

They were also awarded damages for the rent increases, which the court found to be unlawful. However, the main tenant had exaggerated the amount of the unlawful rent increases and thus obtained the money that he had extorted from them.

Ann-Marie O’Reilly, advocacy officer at housing charity Threshold, said people who rent rooms or beds in shared accommodation and are dealing with another tenant in the property rather than the landlord could be classed as licensees rather than tenants of the property.

This often means they do not have access to the protections provided by the RTB. However, important nuances can determine whether people have rights or not.

“A lot of people find themselves in these types of leases. It can be very informal. People who (already) live there say, ‘Great, move in and you don’t sign your name.'”

In such situations, the main tenant does not have the same duties and responsibilities as a landlord under the law, she said.

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People included in a licensee agreement can apply for recognition as tenants by the landlord after a period of six months, she said.

Students living in purpose-built student accommodation are licensees but are covered by the law, she said. People whose accommodation is provided by an employer are not affected and could face eviction if they lose or leave their job.

In cases where a person rents a property from the owner and that person, who does not live in the property himself, then rents it to others, the person doing so becomes the “sub-lessor” of the tenancy and assumes the responsibilities and duties of a landlord under the law, she said.

According to the Residential Tenancy Act, an apartment must be a “self-contained unit” in order to qualify as a rental apartment, said lawyer Martin Canny.

“So a sublet unit must have its own kitchen and bathroom. Otherwise, the unit cannot be registered as a rental unit under the law,” he said.

When sharing apartments or houses with multiple bedrooms, it can happen that the name of a new resident is put on a master lease in place of a resident who has moved out, so that all residents are tenants of the landlord. But that is not how people usually conduct their affairs, he said.

“In some ways, it’s chaotic for the landlord to have four tenants,” he said. But tenants who don’t involve the landlord “are just licensees of the guy who gave them the room.”

Therefore, they most likely do not have access to the rental and other rights monitored by the RTB.