considering tenancy for 1st time

Hi folks, looking for some advice.

I am considering entering the rental market for the first time as a tenant. We are a couple with a very young infant and want to provide a nice house and living environment that we currently do not have (council tenants in poor estate)

I have some queries in relation to renting that i hope to get help here with..
1. We would intend to make a home in this property, thereby taking utmost care of the property. To this end would we be allowed to tend to the garden. plant new plants etc? Gardening is a passion my husband has never been able to pursue because of where we live!

2. As our child is young I would love to be able to use one of the rooms as a nursery, would this be possible? ie painting it child friendly etc?

3. Are we allowed to hang family photos etc etc..little personal things like that?

4. If the house comes furnished are we allowed to add things that we would just take with us if the time came to move on?

We would have no problem signing a lease stating that we would have to leave the property the same way we got it (ie nursery room painted back to neutral etc)

I know all this may sound naive but we really are in relation to renting and our biggest fear is paying for somewhere that we dont feel attached to as a family.

Many thanks

Jez if i had a house to rent i'd want you as tennents. As for your questions:-

1) I think any landlord would love not having to bother with coming to cut the grass or tend to the garden, If he's having withdrawal symptons i have a big garden thats in bits and he can come and potter ( excuse the pun ) and do what ever he wants to it. Anything would be an inprovement on what it's like at the moment.

2) Again i dont think a landlord is going to mind if you decorate the room for your child, especially when your going to put it back to how it was. You might not even need to do this. When you move out another family might move in and love that it's already decorated.

3) Evertwhere i have rented have never had a problem with this. If a Landlord did i would find somewhere else. Although your only renting it is your home, and if you cant hang a few pictures and get a few nic knacks then it's not a home. Most landlords will request that you fill the holes and re-paint over them. I've moved into places where the nails were still in the walls, it was great didn't have to make my own.

4) yeah no problem with this. If there is too much in the house or you have your own things that you want to use instead, ask the landlord to remove it or put it in the attic untill you move out and then put it back where it was.

There are loads of properties available at the moment, landlords are desperate to rent their properties. I dont see any landlord having a problem with anything that you want to do, even before there was more supply than demand, so i really dont think your going to have any problems at all.

Good luck in your new home!

I imagine you'd have to put these questions to your landlord, Maintaining a garden would be an attractive proposal to any landlord. As for hanging family photos and adding personal affects really shouldn't be a problem so long as you don't damage the walls.. You will be required to sign a lease and pay a deposite, the deposite will only be refunded to you if and when you move on, under the condition the house is in the same condition in which you moved in to it. Heavy maintanance of the house, leaks or any faults will be the landlords responsibility to fix not yours. You may be renting a house but whilst you're there and paying rent it is 'your home' and you must feel comfortable in it.
Be carefull when signing a lease, if your not sure about it or it's not clear to you, have someone else look over it for you
Good luck in your new home.

Please rent my place. As SJ says you can come and potter in my garden anytime. In relation to a house as long as you return the place as you find it you shouldn't have any problems. If you want to bring a lot of furniture it might be better to rent an unfurnished house as landlords do not in general have places to properly store furniture.

Thank you folks!!..any prospective landlords reading want me??!!
I feel more comfortable going looking for places now as i've always been reticent before and afraid to view places because unsure of the topics raised above. Also i had the usual 'rent is dead money' arguments thrown at me from various parties but there was a very good thread on the mortgages forum that detailed the amount it costs to service a mortgage in interest etc as opposed to renting esp in a negative equity situation so i hit them with these figures and it shut them up quickly.

Maxol where do you want to rent. Have you checked out Daft.ie?

hoping for lucan or else a big house in dublin 8 or 12 but they're hard to come by!

im on daft all the time but its hard trying to keep track and then the smae agent has loads of properties and its awkward when you've dealt with them before. but i will keep searching

Make sure you know your rights as a tenant especially as you want to make it a longterm arrangement. The housing agency Threshold (www.threshold.ie) is a good source of information and can act for you in case of problems with landlords. A landlord is legally required to register a tenancy with the PRTB (www.PRTB.ie) so make sure to ask about that when renting.You can avail of the PRTB for dispute resolution even if the tenancy is not registered but a landlord who dosn't register you could be a bit dodgey.

www.myhome2let.ie seems good too. Good luck.

Thanks folks. Daft is pretty much the staple so haven't checked the others, will do now.

I'd advise potential landlords..signs in gardens!! We're going for drive now to look at various locations

Thanks folks. Daft is pretty much the staple so haven't checked the others, will do now.

I'd advise potential landlords..signs in gardens!! We're going for drive now to look at various locations

some follow on questions after my first few viewings...

1. is it the norm to ask questions/agree terms etc at the viewing or casn you just say ill think about it and call or is this bad etiquette??

2. How amenable are ll's to negotiations in asking prices. i have gotten point blank no from the ones so far but it is the agent im dealing with in all cases.

3. at what point do i have the conversation about wanting to turn it into a family home, garden etc??

4. i would obviously prefer to rent from a ll who has the property as an investment rather than someone who had to move out cos they couldnt cover the mortgage and may eventually want to move back in if an upturn occurs. anyway i can suss this out? i see this as a long term thing, i would like to think the ll hopes for the same.

any other pointers please?