I have a small country house which I let out during the year for holiday visits, usually one to two weeks but sometimes a bit more.
My difficulty is that I cannot get any professional advice as to best way to manage this property. Could you possibly suggest a suitable professional group that I could contact to clarify our commitments, payments, PAYE etc. There do appear to be good opportunities but not always clear how to proceed. In fact it is a fairly complex topic
Mr T.W.
Letting out property always sounds like an attractive idea but, as you say, it generally proves to be more complicated than people expect — even for very short-term stays.
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It is one thing for people who actively go out to buy an investment property but in many cases, the opportunity arises because a person inherits a family home or a holiday home.
You say you let the property out during the year for holiday visits that usually extend to one to two weeks, sometimes a bit more. That length of stay is important. Anything up to 14 days is considered a short-term let in relation to a raft of regulations which has been designed to put some manners on the surge in Airbnb accommodation available at a time of acute shortage of housing for longer-term tenants.
I am assuming, of course, that it is not just one period of a fortnight per year: otherwise, the costs of handling any income you make will effectively swallow up the income.
If your property is in a rent-pressure zone, you will need planning permission before you start letting it out at all — and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will get the permission. This is not a box-ticking exercise and it can come as a surprise to some holiday homeowners to discover they are in a rent pressure zone. Areas like Westport in Co Mayo, for instance, are covered by one of the 65 rent pressure zones around the State, as are parts of Sligo.
In addition, new rules are on the way that will require you to register your property with Fáilte Ireland or face financial penalties. I’m not sure where you advertise the property that you let out but the platforms will be subject to even heavier fines for advertising properties not registered with Fáilte Ireland so they will inevitably be sticklers for following the rules.
And all that is before you deal with issues like maintenance, tax and other payments.
I’m slightly surprised that you say you cannot get any professional advice on the best way to manage this property as there certainly are resources out there that should be able to assist you.
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It might be worth touching base with the Irish Property Owners’ Association (ipoa.ie), a lobby group for landlords of all sorts which should be able to give you general advice on the rules and opportunities in letting your property for holiday breaks as you do.
If you are not the sort of person who enjoys actively managing these things, you should consider the merits of engaging a property manager to oversee the dealings with guests, handling the inevitable minor crises that arise, sorting out maintenance including keeping gardens in order, cleaning etc. Local estate agents should have details of property management companies in the area where this property is located — quite often estate agents will double up as property management businesses.
It is certainly worth shopping around and getting feedback as not all property managers are created equal. Each will have their charging structure. And while that will be an allowable cost against rental income before tax, you want to make sure that they are reliable and will represent you to tenants in the manner you would wish.
The other thing you may wish to consider, depending on how comfortable you are with such things, is hiring an accountant to manage your tax obligations on any rental income — and ensure you qualify for any relevant reliefs and claim any allowable deductions.
Clearly, any Airbnb-type income is liable to income tax, PRSI and USC but the cost of your accountant will also be a charge against the rental income before tax.
Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
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