107 thoughts on “‘Why Are You Moving?’

    1. Mikeyfex

      It’s ‘Can I have a copy of your passport?’. It sets the same tone as ‘uhh, you gonna eat that?’. Written like that I’d be fairly confident I’d be able to talk them out of needing it.

    2. AlisonT

      Its fair enough. Landlords are at major risk if tenants don’t work out – they can be left several years without an income from their property. Most countries require several months deposit and have systems where people can be quickly evicted if they refuse to pay their rent. In Ireland most of the risk is with the landlord. They are now even responsible for the water charges of their tenants.

      1. P

        “most countries require several months deposit and have systems where people can be quickly evicted if they refuse to pay their rent” Where are you getting this information from?

        1. Ciarán

          in Germany it’s three months, repayable up to ONE YEAR after the end of the rental period. . On the upside, the deposit is put into a tertiary bank account, not the landlords, where it can accumulate interest (in practice only a few €s a year…)

      2. d4n

        They aren’t responsible for the water charges ‘Rental properties
        The tenant of a property is the occupier and is responsible for paying the water charges. Landlords can provide the names of their tenants in order to prove that they are not the occupier, and Irish Water will then contact the tenants.

        If there are no tenants in the property, the minimum “not permanently occupied” charge applies’
        From citizens information, where’d you get that idea?

  1. everybody

    Your not just entitled to rent a persons property … They own it, they can ask whatever they want before they let another person in.

      1. Goosey Lucy

        Asking to view your current place is madness! PFO I’d say. Are they for real?!!
        Do you stay up late at night?
        Do you like romantic comedies?
        Who was your favourite Spice Girl?

        1. MepMep

          Favourite Spice Girl has long been an indicator as to what type of tennant you are. I’ll be deep in the cold ground before I rent my toolshed to a Scary-favorer.

    1. scottser

      all fine as long landlords accept that renting a property, like any business venture, comes with risk. it’s a trade off if you want someone else to pay your mortgage.
      if a landlord wants to reduce that risk, and have properly risk-assessed tenants, then lease the property to the local authority or a voluntary agency.

  2. bruce01

    Indeed, PRTB only require your PPS for registration. Although, that has been known to rankle previously.

  3. Soundings

    Looks like an amateur landlord who’s trying to protect themselves.

    A copy of passport? For a viewing, fupp off, but if you’re entering into a tenancy agreement, smart and professional.

    A copped-on landlord will find out the above info, one way or the other. The odd nightmare tenant justifies the caution and research.

    Not to say this isn’t a nightmare landlord (or worse, a scam artist), but if the same landlord is renting properties in the same building, wouldn’t the above give you some confidence about the vetting? That said, looks amateurish.

    1. Jay

      I think the copy of a passport thing may be problematic. I seem to recall that even in the case of employers, they can’t actually keep a copy of it, just make a copy to confirm visa/work eligibility. After that the copy must be destroyed.

      Also would wonder if the landlord was registered with the data protection commissioner given that they would be holding such information for any period of time.

      1. gertrude

        a national debt of 113% of gdp, 2 zombie banks, a “bad bank” that will never turn a net profit when everything is considered, 8.54bn of 55bn tax take last year on interest payments alone, more than that percentage for the foreseeable future, self censored media, censored media, 180k/750k mortgages in arrears and being propped up by the tax payers and rent comparable to london with salaries nowhere near, 300k on the dole, rent allowance for same, 300k in civil/public sector out of a workforce of 2.1 mil – yeah harbo’s blog.

        all your tax you pay forever is going to pay for mistakes already made by somebody else.

        1. Mikeyfex

          Sorry I can’t hear you over the sound of U2 and Niall Horan playing trad music while hitting golf balls off surfboards into my pint while I try to enjoy an Irish steak in Dick Mack’s while the three-pints-in police man tells self deprecating jokes about neutrality to the captive audience of skilled workers on St Patricks day.

          1. Mikeyfex

            Ah you’re good craic, Gertrude.

            (Did you honestly think I was defending the country with a LovinDublin article?)

          2. Drogg

            Mikeyfex if i can get a bit if cash together myself and the family are totally getting out of here asap. I was thinking a nice Scandinavian country.

        2. 3stella

          Not to mention one of the great architects of the bubble, Peter Bacon is back around banging his investors and F*ck everyone else drum….

    1. JimmytheHead

      Good stuff, make sure you post on facebook about how great your new country is for the first 2 weeks then moan about how much you miss Ireland, only to return and moan about how crap it is here compared to previous country.

      That almost never happens.

      1. Nej

        You forgot to mention the part about finding a local Irish pub where you can moan into your pint of Guinness about how it’s not the same as “back home” while stuffing your face with tayto.

        And also to join the local GAA club, and hang around exclusively with other Irish expats.

        1. Spaghetti Hoop

          There is NOTHING wrong with joining the local GAA club when living in another country….keeps our games strong.

    2. brytothey

      Be careful. If you’re moving to the UK to avoid this, think again. Estate agents here are twice as bad and charge the successful tenants £400 as well as charging the owner/landlord.

      Also very expensive accommodation related expenses in the UK: water charges, council tax. I’m also surrounded by co-workers in the early 30s still paying off their college fees (just thought I’d throw this in – maybe you’re thinking long, long term).

      You don’t know how well you have it in Ireland. I’m moving back.

      Of course, maybe you’ll escape all these elsewhere.

      1. Ciarán

        moving to the UK coz you hate Ireland is like eating in Burger King coz you hate McDonalds

  4. bongobob

    Why Are You Moving?

    ’cause…. eh, I’ve just been released from Mountjoy prison this morning after completing a sentence for beating up my last landlord.

  5. Nikkeboentje

    As a landlord, I have now started asking for a copy of passport/driving licence, reference from previous landlord, reference from employer or payslip and if I chose them as the tenant, I have to get their PRSI number for the PRTB.
    The reason I am asking for all of this is that one previous tenant who told me he was a courier was in fact a front man for two prostitutes. As you can imagine, the other tenants in the apartment block weren’t too keen with having lots of men parading up and down the stairs at all hours of the day and night. Obviously, I terminated the tenancy agreement with the guy when I found out what the apartment was being used for.
    When I advertised the apartment again, I asked for all the info stated in the first paragraph. There was one foreign national who said he was a self employed taxi driver, so he couldn’t provide an employer’s reference nor payslips. I said that was fine but I would need his taxi drivers reference number/ID. He sent me an email with scanned copies of a previous landlord’s reference, his passport and his taxi drivers ID. Everything looked fine until I tried to contact the previous landlord, the telephone kept ringing out. The letter said that he had lived in a second floor apartment, when I looked at the address of the property on google maps, there were only terraced houses on the street. When I rang the taxi regulator, they had no one matching his name on their records and the ID number was no longer in use. Finally when I looked at the copy of his passport on my PC screen, it was obvious that he had altered the name, sex and photograph.
    I have no idea who he really was or what his intentions were for my property. THAT is why landlords have to look for this kind of information.

    1. katia

      @Nikkeboentje
      Understand your concerns but I’d love to know what your data protection policy is (same thing for the agency in this post). How do you store it? How long do you keep it for? Is it secure? Will you pass it on?

      If you don’t have a policy I understand you could be fine by the Data Protection Commissioner. And rightly so.
      Having a copy of someone’s passport certainly won’t tell you whether that person is criminal or not.
      You can do all kinds of due dilligence on someone with information available in the public domain as it. How would you feel about giving a copy of your passport to someone not legally entitled to ask for it and keep it?

      1. Nikkeboentje

        I lived abroad and it is standard for landlords here to ask for a lot more information.
        I had to give a copy of my passport, my employment contract (not just a letter from my employer), bank statements, police reference and social security number. This was on top of providing 3 months rent up front and 3 months rent as deposit.
        I know someone’s passport won’t tell me if someone is a criminal or not, that is not the point. I want to know that the person is who he/she says they are, so if anything happens at least I have some hope of trying to track them down.

        1. f-mong

          you’re dodging the question…

          @Nikkeboentje
          Understand your concerns but I’d love to know what your data protection

          1. f-mong

            you’re dodging the question…

            @Nikkeboentje
            Understand your concerns but I’d love to know what your data protection policy is

          2. Nikkeboentje

            I keep the information on file for as long as the tenant is occupying the premises. When the exit inspection is complete and the deposit returned to the tenant, I shred any “sensitive” material.

        2. Ms Piggy

          ‘Abroad’ is a big place, and also doesn’t all have strict data protection laws. Ireland does, very strict ones indeed. I have experience of it in the workplace and believe me, if you’re taking this kind of information from people and keeping it in a desk drawer in your house and/or on an ordinary gmail account or similar, you’re in breach of data protection law. Landlords should NOT be asking for a copy of passports. As for ‘describe your lifestyle’, isn’t that about as much use as the airport questions about whether you’re carrying explosives? Only likely to catch the very, very stupid terrorists.

          1. Nikkeboentje

            People have to hand over a copy of their passport when staying in a hotel, why should a landlord not ask for a copy of a passport. What other way is there of ensuring a person is who they say they are?

          2. Nikkeboentje

            I just discovered from a post below that PPS cards now have photos, I would gladly accept that as proof of identity.

          3. katia

            People are asked to hand over a copy of their passport when staying in a hotel, however from experience once you ask them for a DP policy, that requirement suddenly disappears and they are happy to wave that copy. Also dependent on local legislation. Know your rights!

        3. katia

          Ah great so you are indeed in breach of DP laws. Standards in foreign countries are different (I should know, I’m French and what you described above is correct in the legal setting over there). Not over here though. You can ask all you want to look at the passport, however you can’t ask for a copy and retain it willy nilly “in a file until they’re no longer a tennant”. Want to bet that passes no audit and you get a lovely fine if you get caught? You’re engaging in a mutual contract which like most contracts contain some risk. You can try and contain the risks but you should remain within the law whilst you do that. If you don’t feel you can accept the risk and remain within your legal rights then it’s simple, don’t enter into the contractual relationship. You can’t have your cake and eat it. If you do, you run the risk of one day getting reported to the DPC who would most definitely fine against you. Good luck with that!

          1. Paul Davis

            Well he just made you decide against choosing his place. I think he has the outcome he was looking for.

            None of this info matters, it can be falsified. The fact you wont give it shows the person you are and the person the landlord does not want.

            Wood / Trees

          2. Jay

            If I wanted to steal a bunch of peoples identities, pretending to be renting out an apartment and getting the information this way seems like an excellent strategy.

    2. Jonotti

      Come on, use a bit of intuition. It’s fairly obvious when you’re talking to a decent Irish professional. Maybe demand passports from foreigners where your intuition might fail.

        1. Jonotti

          OMG ignore this troll..

          It’s about being pragmatic. You should be able to spot a dodgy Irish person after years living amongst them. This gets harder when you have people with different cultural backgrounds. The foreign person is also more of a liability as they can do a runner far easier.

          1. Ciarán

            Irish people have been doing a runner from Ireland since before St. Patrick told the snakes to push off.

          2. d4n

            I’m mad dodgy, so are my mates, you get away with it by being able to hide it. (my name’s not really d4n)

    3. Liam from Lixnaw

      the “front man for two prostitutes” – they are a super band! hes got a great voice that lad, i have all their albums

    4. Parp

      “one previous tenant who told me he was a courier was in fact a front man for two prostitutes”

      Thought their first album was overhyped but the last one was fairly decent.

  6. Beanonsan

    Pfft. That’s nothing. My gf was sat down and asked was she pregnant (when she was at least visibly not).

    1. Paolo

      Absolutely! If you were interviewing for someone to flat share with you, you would certainly get all of the information you could. Why should it be any different for someone handing over the keys to their house / apartment? It is excessive to ask for that info prior to a viewing but, the way I read it, the landlord is not asking for the info, simply asking if the potential tenant will be willing to provide it in the future.

      1. ahyeah

        Yeah, if that’s what the landlord is looking for, it’s preferable that it’s made clear before prospective tenants waste an afternoon or evening attending a viewing.

        1. Drogg

          Still no need to ask for a copy of a passport. A PPS number should be sufficient, why do they need your passport? to me it sounds dodgy.

          1. Nikkeboentje

            How do you know the person is who the say they are without a copy of their passport. As far as I can remember the PPS card does not have a photo on it. They could have “borrowed” a PPS card from someone.

          2. Lorcan Nagle

            New Social Welfare/PPS cards do have your picture on them, though you’re likely not to get one unless you’re out of work (they’re required for collecting the dole now)

          3. Nikkeboentje

            Ah okay, I’ve been out of the country for a while. I wasn’t aware the cards now had photos. As long as I had something official with a photo, confirming the identity of the person signing the tenancy agreement, that would be sufficient.

          4. Drogg

            You can show someone your passport or your driving licence to prove you are who you say you are but they do not need to hold a copy that could be used to make a forgery of your passport.

    2. Ms Piggy

      at a push (a real push) you might ask to see the new tenant’s passport. But take a copy of it?! From the tenant’s perspective, that’s like giving your bank details to the son of a former Nigerian dictator. That’s information which should be kept private, it has a real black-market value, why do you think passports get stolen?

        1. Ms Piggy

          the information on it does though – the number, date of issue/expiry, holder’s name and DOB. That’s the information you need to clone passports. Ask Mossad, they have experience in this with Irish passports :-D

  7. Custo

    One months deposit & a month in advance?!

    Yeah buddy, no problem, here’s 3 grand off the bat before this months 1500 rent is due.

    1. ahyeah

      Completely standard.

      Becoming more common to ask for 1 month in advance + 6 weeks deposit, in fact.

    2. ReproBertie

      Is that not normal? One months’ deposit and then a month’s rent for the first month of occupancy.

      1. Nikkeboentje

        In Luxembourg, I had to give three months rent up front and three months rent as a deposit.

  8. Disasta

    Moved recently (last week) and was asked nothing of the sort. ID and references and they can fook right off.

  9. dhaughton99

    Have you ever kicked a dog?

    White & gold or Black & blue?

    Have you ever used a glory hole?

    Who shot JR?

    Who left those dirty dishes in the sink?

    Are you from the northside?

    Are you Jihadi John?

  10. f-mong

    Questions for Landlords

    1. Which part of rural Ireland are you from?
    2. How annoyed with me will you sound when I risk asking for a plumber/electrician etc.. ?
    3. Are you registered for tax in Ireland, or will I find out when I ring revenue to claim tax relief and it turns out your ‘based abroad’ and I get hit with a tax bill for the rent you’ve been collecting?
    4. Do you buy your paint from the same place prisons do?
    4a. Will you steadfast refuse to let me repaint even the if existing paint is powdering off the damp walls?
    5. How much mail from past tenants and weird zombie companies registered to this address can I expect?
    6. Will you be wanting the dirty clothes I found stuffed down the back of the bed, that the “professional cleaners you claimed to hire must have missed, back at the end of the lease?
    7. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being none, 10 being complete and utter, what is your level of contempt for your tennants?

    1. Jeremy

      Questions for Landlords

      1. South County Dublin. Dalkey, actually.
      2. I won’t get annoyed. I will though want to first ascertain whether you really need one.
      3. If you read the lease I gave you, you’ll find my home address on the back page. This is a legal requirement, and one that I happily comply with – I know where you live, only fair that you know where I live. I am required to put down my PPR, not a holiday home or a friend’s address etc. If I breach this requirement, it’s my problem, not yours – you won’t be hit with any bill from revenue.
      4. I don’t know where prisons purchase paint.
      4a. Yes, I will refuse to allow you paint my property. Experience tells me you’ll make a mess. I will though pay to have the property professionally redecorated every 3 years.
      5. That’s nothing to do with me.
      6. Yes, they belong to my wife.
      7. 6

    2. Eoghany

      I know if I were the landlord, I’d just delete your smart arse email and rent it to any of the other 5 people looking to rent the property. A sure sign you’re going to be a nightmare tenant.

      1. Ciarán

        if you had sent the original questions, but yet balk at questions being sent back to you, then the likelihood is you are a nightmare landlord, and this person can praise the gods for this luck near miss.

  11. Jane

    If I were looking to rent from this guy, I think I’d be asking a list of similar questions (and preserving his devil-may-care approach to spelling, habit of random capitalisation and idiocyncratic approach to grammar).

    Why Are Your Current Tenannts (sic) Leaving? Can you provide a reference

    Do You Return Deposits? Prove it with a copy of your Bank Account which I will Illegally Retain for my Files (ie put in a drawer and Forget about)

    If a Leak happens, Do You send your Mate dave around to Sort It and Look at Women Tennnants?

    Are You Normally Resident In This State? Can I have your passport?

    Do You Raise Your Rents above Market value on a Regular Basis?

    That kind of thing. Obviously, tenants have to protect themselves.

  12. Pray For Mojo

    I was once asked, by a tenant of the house rather than a landlord, if I had a boyfriend. I said yes, and was then told they didn’t want anyone in a relationship moving in. Harsh you guys… My protests that I was still cool despite being a loser in a relationship did not work.

      1. Pray For Mojo

        Nope, it was literally just that the three single girls living there did not want a fourth girl with a boyfriend moving in. The smell of monogamy off me must have been brutal. I was actually very understanding, they obviously didn’t want a random lad potentially taking up space on their sofa at the weekend but they could probably have been more tactful!

  13. Bingo

    This is where the PRTB could actually serve a purpose.
    Standard list of info submitted to PRTB (individual case ID), once they validate it, landlord can consider you as a tenant.
    Privacy protected, blushes spared.

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