Before you arrive

• See it in person before paying. If you are abroad, have a trusted person in Ireland physically inspect it for you. A live video call helps, but prerecorded video and photos prove nothing: scammers can copy them from a genuine listing.
• Keep the viewing safe. Tell a friend the address, who you are meeting and when you expect to finish. Share your live location, arrange a check-in, keep your phone charged and, when possible, bring another person. Leave immediately if the situation feels wrong.
• Verify the person as well as the address. Check the RTB register where applicable, ask for the landlord’s or authorised agent’s full details, compare the listing with maps and other advertisements, and confirm who is entitled to rent it.
• An in-person viewing is not the only check. Scammers have rented short-term accommodation, staged convincing viewings and collected several deposits. Inspect the full property, ask detailed questions and test the keys yourself.
• Keep a paper trail. Get a written contract or licence agreement before moving in. It should identify everyone, the exact address, rent, deposit, dates, bills, house rules, notice arrangements and deposit-return conditions. Keep the advert and all messages, use a traceable payment method and demand a signed receipt.
• Walk away from pressure tactics. Warnings include an “owner abroad,” refusal to meet, a suspiciously low price, social-media-only contact, a foreign or unrelated bank account, cash, crypto, gift cards, wire services, fake couriers, or demands for sensitive documents before verification.

Calling a document a “licence” does not automatically make it one. The RTB and courts consider how the arrangement actually works. Ask Threshold or the RTB if the category is unclear.

• A safe, structurally sound and maintained home with hot and cold water, adequate controllable heating and ventilation, safe gas and electricity, working appliances and required fire and carbon-monoxide protection.
• Access to proper cooking and food-storage facilities. Covered rental accommodation must provide the required cooking equipment, fridge/freezer, sink with safe drinking water and adequate food storage. A provider cannot simply rent a room while denying access to facilities required by the minimum standards.
• Peaceful and exclusive occupation: except in an emergency, a landlord needs your permission before entering and should arrange inspections or repairs with you in advance.
• Rent and payment receipts, the landlord’s or authorised agent’s details, information explaining how rent was set, and at least 90 days’ notice of a lawful rent increase.
• Necessary repairs, valid notice if the tenancy is ending, and access to RTB dispute resolution. Your statutory rights generally still exist even without a written lease.
• For a normal private tenancy, the deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent and advance rent cannot exceed one month. Document who holds the deposit and never pay merely to “reserve” an unseen room.

These are simplified essentials, not legal advice. They generally apply to private tenancies and most student-specific accommodation—not ordinary owner-occupied digs or Rent-a-Room licences.

• “Monday to Friday only” means it is not a full-time home. It is commonly a digs arrangement where the household wants the room back for family use at weekends. It may suit a weekly commuter, but an international student normally needs guaranteed access seven days a week, including holidays and reading weeks.
• Ask whether you must leave belongings behind or remove them, follow a curfew, accept visitor restrictions, vacate during college breaks or move rooms. Put every restriction and the notice arrangement in writing.
• Couples face a much smaller pool. Many Galway room-share advertisements are priced and offered for one occupant only, and purpose-built student rooms may have occupancy rules. Search early, disclose both occupants and confirm both names are permitted and included in the contract. In covered housing, discrimination based on civil or family status may be unlawful.
• Ordinary pets severely reduce the available options. Do not adopt or bring a pet assuming you will find permission later. Get written approval before paying or signing and budget extra time for the search. A trained guide or assistance dog connected with a disability is not simply an ordinary pet; seek advice if accommodation refuses a reasonable disability-related arrangement.
• If bills are included, ask what “included” covers—electricity, heating, hot water, internet and bins—and whether there is a cap or later service charge.
• If bills are separate, request typical summer and winter costs, the heating system and BER, how costs are divided and recent redacted bills. Winter electricity and heating can be dramatically higher.
• Compare the complete cost: rent, utilities, transport, laundry and the value of losing weekends. A cheaper room far from campus or unavailable two nights a week may not be cheaper in practice.