Coronavirus: My highly paid tenants have temporarily left – can I still ask them for rent?

I rent out two rooms in my house Monday to Friday only. This is not my tenants' main home: both are consultants and have decided to work from their home. Both are highly paid. One is saying he won't be paying his rent with me. Can he do that even though it is his choice not to work from my house?

The rent-a-room sector has been the subject of a lot of discussion since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis. To date the focus has been on preventing people losing their room as a result of fears around community transmission and there have been calls from various bodies for the introduction of specific legislation for the sector. Currently the position is that you have an agreement with both people which is in effect a licence to reside and not a formal tenancy. In many instances the terms of this licence may have only been agreed verbally or via an email – it is uncommon to have a formal document in place.

In basic terms a licence to reside is not covered by the Residential Tenancies Board and, as a result, neither party has the protections afforded by a formal tenancy.

The trade-off has always been that this is a flexible arrangement which allowed rooms to be rented for five days out of seven rather than on a full-time basis, which has tended to suit both parties. The Government has also encouraged the use of the rent-a-room scheme by putting in place good tax breaks for home owners. Unfortunately as a result unless you have something formally in writing regarding the duration of the agreement there is very little you can do at this time if the people chose to move out.

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Enda McGuane is a chartered planning and development surveyor and managing director of Winters Property Management in Galway. He is a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland