If you’re thinking about renting out your spare room in Ireland but you’re not sure what kind of rental period would suit you best, then this blog is for you. 

Let’s take a look at what short-term and medium-term rentals are and how they differ so you can decide which is best for you. 

What Is A Short-Term Rental?

If you rent out your room for less than 21 days it is considered to be a short-term rental. This would typically be the Air BnB style of renting where you rent out a room to tourists visiting for a weekend stay or anything under 21 nights.

What Is A Medium Term Rental?

A medium-term rental is where you rent out your room for at least one month and usually an average of 3-4 months. You would typically be renting out your room to someone who is working or studying in your area and in need of a place to rent for a fixed duration. They might be students from abroad or professional Irish people relocating for work. 
 

What Are The Pros and Cons?

Short Term Rentals can be attractive because of the short duration of stay. 

They were popularised by Air BnB over the last few years. The idea is that you can rent your spare room to guests for one night up to 21 nights. 

But there are some cons to short-term rentals that need to be considered.

When you have short-term guests coming and going you have a lot of work to do as a host in terms of check-ins, cleaning, and providing a hotel-like experience.

Your guests expect a lot from you. You may even need to provide breakfast. 
Your guests will generally be tourists looking to you for guidance on how to best explore your local area. 

Short-Term Rentals are also subject to tax. This is because renting a room out as a short-term rental does not fall under the rent-a-room relief scheme. That means that you will need to pay tax on all the income you earn from renting out your spare room. This tax must be paid to Revenue at the end of each year. 

In addition to that, you may be required to get planning permission for your short-term rental. This would involve applying to your local authority  for planning permission to change the use of the property so it can be used for tourism and short-term rentals. 

The reason short-term rentals are seemingly penalised through both tax and needing planning permission is because short-term rentals are largely considered to worsen the accommodation crises. They do this by removing existing mid to long-term accommodation from the rental market, and instead, cater to the tourism market. 

Medium-Term Rentals are considerably easier to manage. A medium-term guest will not have the same expectations as a short-term renter would. They will be renting a room from you for a minimum of one month to live in so they can go to their job or study. They will not have expectations for you to provide breakfast or be a local guide. They will be responsible for themselves and that includes making their own meals and the upkeep/cleaning of their room and personal space. 

The rent you earn from a medium-term let is also tax free. This is because it does fall under the rent-a-room relief scheme. That means you will keep all the rent you earn and you won’t need to submit any annual tax returns to revenue either. This scheme was created to incentivise renting out a spare room to increase the accommodation available on the medium to long-term market.

Encouraging people to rent out the spare room in their homes through a tax free scheme will go a long way towards easing the accommodation crisis in Ireland. 
If you’d like to learn more about the Rent-A-Room Relief scheme and who qualifies for it you can read our blog post here.

You also won’t need to apply for planning permission to rent out your spare room on a medium-term basis.

The cons to medium-term rentals are mainly around finding the right guests to rent out to and making sure you are comfortable with your rental agreements. 

If you decide to rent out your room, you might worry that your house won’t feel like home anymore. 
When you rent out on a medium-term basis, you get to know your guest better than a short-term guest. You can really build up a relationship with them too. This makes it much easier and much more pleasant to live harmoniously with your guest.

To do this successfully it helps to get set up correctly before your guest arrives and get off on the right foot so everything goes smoothly. 
If you’d like to know how to achieve that you can check out this blog post here.

Which Makes More Money?

At first glance, the higher nightly pricing of short-term rentals may seem to be the best option. Yes, you might charge more on a nightly basis, but when you take into account the tax you pay, the cost of time and money for the general upkeep of a higher turnover of guests, medium-term renting ends up being much more lucrative, less time-consuming, and less hassle too. You will end up with a higher occupancy rate which will give you a higher rental income on an annual basis. 

Helping The Accommodation Crisis

Medium Term Rentals are also key to helping ease the accommodation crises in Ireland. Short-term rentals only cater to the tourism industry and end up making it impossible for people to find a place to rent while they work or study anywhere in Ireland. An increase in short-term rentals is only aggravating the accommodation crises across the country by taking entire properties off the medium/long-term rental market. 
 

How To Get Started With Your Medium-Term Rental

At Hosting Power we specialise in medium-term rentals. All of our guests book a stay for a minimum of one month and up to a maximum of 18 months, with the option to extend should that suit. 

This means that renting to a Hosting Power Guest allows you to qualify under the Rent-a-room relief scheme. 

We have been placing medium-term guests in host homes all over Ireland since 2014 so we have experience in the industry and can help you navigate the entire process.

We do this by setting up an online listing for your room and advertising your room for you. 
We then vet the guests that apply and send you the booking requests. 
You are in control and supported every step of the way. 
We even help you price your room correctly.

If you’re interested in becoming a Host and renting out your spare room on a medium-term basis you are welcome to apply today. It’s free, as are our services to you!