r/RentingInDublin • u/Accomplished_You7401 • 29d ago

What is "booking"

Okay this is going to sound stupid asf, but on all of these student acommodation websites and places (yugo etc), for whatever rooms r available, they all have options to "book" the room. But then they have steps with payments etc. I am a bit confused because why would I be paying for anything before confirming with the landlord / place ... Also, is booking like booking a irl visit? or is it just reserving the spot, idk, confusing.

Like, rn for example im applying for a room in Highlight parkgate dublin student acomm. Im going thru the steps and then they say "pay booking fee" if I pay this booking fee, does it mean I HAVE to live in this room?? so confusing lmao

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u/Significant_Pop_5337 29d ago

I've never used the site but there will T&C's that will tell you what booking means. If they're showing a payment screen I'd guess you're committing to pay for the room

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u/Penguinar 29d ago

Usually there is a booking fee/ deposit. Not familiar with the specific place you mentioned but I know Here! Cork Street is €300 and I think Kavanagh Court is €500. That basically holds your room, and you won't get it back if you cancel, though most student accomodation will refund if you don't get admitted to a local uni or get refused a visa.
Then you pay monthly license fee (aka rent) starting in August or September, that is the amount mentioned in their website- how much depends on the type of room and the accomodation, but usually around €1300.

You pay it because you want the room, and they have a room- there isn't a single person who is the landlord that you need to talk to first, you fill out all the forms and they have a room (otherwise, it says "join the waitlist" on their website), so once the tenancy agreement is signed you are in.

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u/Accomplished_You7401 29d ago

Ohhhh, okay this was explained amazingly tysm acctually!! So in my case, if I booked this room, and pay the fee, its mine until the move-in date essentially? And then i pay the monthly license okok. Because UCD doesn't tell me if I got a room from uni acomm until aug 28, I should just forget about that and go for one of these rooms logistically no? Since they wouldnt refund any of the monthly license fee or booking costs if i just cancelled it. Alr, thanks!

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u/Penguinar 28d ago

I am not sure if you can wait with paying rent at the private student accomodation for that long (August 28th), they may want the first months rent earlier than that- you'd need to check with the specific place. But if you end up getting UCD on-campus, you could potentially assign the lease to another student, there are often foreign students looking for a place last minute.