Trust and safety

Renting a room without getting caught out

Nearly everybody on here is exactly who they say they are. The handful who are not all work the same way, and they are easy to spot once you know the pattern. Here is what we do, what you should do, and where to go if something goes wrong.

What we do at our end

Messages stay on the site

Enquiries go through RoomRent, so there is a record if anything is disputed. Your email and phone number are not handed over with the message.

Phone numbers are checked, not published

We confirm a mobile number by text so accounts are traceable. The number is never shown on a listing and never sold.

Map pins are offset on purpose

A room shows in the right area but not at the right door. Nobody can find your house from your listing.

Photos are stripped of location data

Phone photos carry GPS coordinates. We remove that in your browser before the photo is ever uploaded.

Listings expire

Rooms come down when the plan runs out rather than lingering after they are let, so you are not chasing rooms that are gone.

Reports get read by a person

Every report on a listing or an account is read. We take rooms down and close accounts, and we would rather act early than leave something up.

If you are looking for a room

Never pay before you have seen it. No deposit, no holding fee, no first month, nothing. A real homeowner letting a real room will show it to you. Somebody who cannot is telling you something.
Be wary of the landlord who is abroad. The story is always the same. They are working overseas, they cannot do viewings, a courier will drop the keys once you transfer the deposit. There is no room and there is no courier.
Pay in a way you can trace. Bank transfer to a named account, or a card. Never a gift card, never crypto, never a wire service, and never cash for a deposit without a receipt. If someone insists on an untraceable method, walk away.
See the room, and the house. Look at the kitchen and the bathroom you would actually be using. Ask who else lives there and meet them if you can. Ask what the heating costs in January.
Get the basics in writing. Rent, what is included, deposit, notice, and whether the room is yours over the summer. A short written agreement protects you more than a long conversation does.
Know where you stand legally. Renting a room in the owner's own home makes you a licensee, not a tenant. You are outside the Residential Tenancies Act, so there is no RTB case and no deposit scheme behind you. That is the law, not this site, and it is the single most important thing to understand before you hand over money.

If you are letting a room

Meet them before you agree anything. Somebody is going to be in your kitchen at seven in the morning. A viewing tells you more in ten minutes than a week of messages.
Ask for a reference and follow it up. A previous landlord, an employer, or a college. Ring the number yourself rather than reading the letter they hand you.
Never take a deposit by cheque from someone you have not met. The overpayment scam is alive and well. They send too much, ask for the difference back, and the original payment bounces a fortnight later.
Put the arrangement in writing. Because a licence sits outside tenancy law, there is no default rule book if you fall out. A one page agreement covering rent, notice, deposit and house rules is worth the twenty minutes.
Keep your own paperwork straight. Rent-a-Room relief is generous, and it still has to be declared. Track what comes in so you know where you stand against the €14,000.
Trust the feeling in your stomach. You do not owe anybody a room in your own home. If something is off, say the room is gone and move on.

Reporting something

Email hello@roomrent.ie with the link to the listing or the person, and what happened. Say whether money changed hands. We read every one, and we take listings and accounts down where our rules have been broken.

We cannot get your money back. Nobody running a listings site can. If you have paid somebody, ring your bank straight away and report it to your local Garda station, because they can investigate and we cannot.

An Garda Síochána

For fraud, or anything where money has gone. Your local station, or 999 if anyone is at risk.

Threshold

Free housing advice, including for licensees who have nowhere else to turn. 1800 454 454.

Citizens Information

Plain English on where you stand when you share accommodation with your landlord.

Small Claims

The route for a deposit dispute when the RTB does not cover you. It costs €25 to file.

Common questions

Is my deposit protected when I rent a room in someone's home?

No. Sharing a home with the owner makes you a licensee rather than a tenant, so the Residential Tenancies Act does not cover you and the RTB cannot help with a deposit dispute. Your fallback is the Small Claims Court. Get the deposit terms in writing before you hand anything over.

What is the most common room rental scam in Ireland?

Somebody advertises a room they do not have, gives a reason they cannot show it in person, and asks for a deposit or a month's rent to hold it. The money goes and the room never existed. No genuine homeowner needs money before you have stood in the room.

Should I pay a holding deposit?

Not before a viewing, ever. After a viewing a holding deposit can be reasonable, but get in writing what it is for, what happens to it if you take the room, and what happens if you do not.

How do I report a listing or a person?

Email hello@roomrent.ie with the link and what happened. We read every report. Listings that break our rules come down, and accounts behind them go with them. If money has changed hands, report it to your local Garda station as well, because we cannot recover funds and they can investigate.

What does a verified host badge actually mean?

It means the mobile number on the account has been confirmed by text. It proves somebody controls a working Irish number, which stops throwaway accounts. It does not vouch for the person, the house or the room, so keep checking everything else.