ONCE AS familiar, and damp, as seagulls on the Liffey, it looks as if the capital’s old-style bedsits, and the landlords who rented them, are rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
Agents selling period houses in units do not expect them to make a return any time soon either, as new-style fire and safety regulations – together with tenants who know their rights, expect decent standards and know the market is theirs – look to have finally ended the reign of dank, damp bedsit land.
The response to the arrival on the Dublin market of a clutch of large, period houses in bedsits/units bears this out.
Lisney, asking €1.5 million for 12 Elgin Road (below right), has received an “investment offer” of €1.325 million for the property. In nine units, buyer interest, says Lisney’s Stephen Day, “is from people looking for a cheap house on Elgin Road. Houses in units are worth the investment, but they must be smart and well laid out or tenants just won’t rent. We’re completing a deal on a house in a similar situation in Haddington Road where there was a lot of interest and the vendor has agreed to sell close to the €675,000 asking price. Buyers, typically, are putting up a lump-sum in cash and borrowing 40 to 50 per cent of the price.”
Felicity Fox, agent for 7 Belgrave Square, D6 (seeking €1 million and in seven units), says there will “always be a market for such houses. Those selling are usually older, retiring landlords. The new breed of investor/landlord comprises younger, usually Irish builders and professional people, who intend living in one unit and renting the others. It costs a lot of money to bring old houses up to scratch with new fire regulations but, once that’s done, there is a definite rental market for good units.”
The sale of 42 Waterloo Road, D4 (in 12 units) is being looked after by Owen Reilly who says “the demand for pre ’63 houses is still there, both for those at the top in good condition and those at the very bottom needing work. A lot of buyers have a certain amount of cash but are finding that they can’t get good terms from the banks for the rest.”
Other agents agree that the pre ’63 bedsit is “a thing of the past”, pointing to the oversupply of quality, single-bedroom accommodation, the proliferation of hotel rooms for €20 a night and a shortage of “good” tenants.
Margaret McCormick of the Irish Property Owners’ Association says, “there is quality accommodation out there and landlords haven’t a hope of getting tenants if standards aren’t adhered to. The old-style damp, uncared for bedsit, with people sharing bathrooms and other facilities, is a thing of the past.”
