If you could do with a little bump to your household income this summer and have a spare room in your home – and the appetite for taking responsibility for someone else’s child – you might consider taking in a foreign student(s) for a couple of weeks.
Yes, it’s getting to the time of year when housing estates come alive to the chatter of foreign-language students. So maybe this is the year you get in on the action.
Who’s looking for hosts?
Given Ireland’s standing as a centre for learning English, a plethora of language schools have sprung up to meet the demand – and all these students need somewhere to sleep.
On Dublin's northside, Dublin City University has an English-language school, DCU Language Services, which serves the needs of international students coming to the city. Its courses run throughout the year, and students typically attend for as short as a week or as long as a year.
It currently has more than 450 host families in the locality, but is looking for more, as it expects a greater number of students to attend over the coming year, and is now actively recruiting for hosts for late spring/summer.
If you want to be a host for the university, it operates a “home visit”, whereby staff will call to your home to view the room(s) and speak to you about the process.
And it’s not the only one – Education First, Linguaviva, Aventura en Irlanda and Leir Education are just some of the other language schools that are actively looking for host families for their summer language programmes.
In Newbridge, Kildare, Peter Donnelly and his wife set up Leir Education in 2013 to offer language courses to foreign, typically Spanish, students. It runs a variety of courses from three to five weeks to longer-term placements. According to Donnelly, the language school is always looking for “good families” who are well-matched to hosting students.
“It’s not for everybody, it doesn’t suit everybody,” Donnelly says.
Hosts can apply some level of discretion when accepting students. Typically, they can turn down a request if it doesn't suit
Another platform to consider is Homestay. com. Founded in 2013 by Tom Kennedy, co-founder of Hostelworld.com, and Debbie Flynn, a veteran of the education travel industry, and funded by Delta Partners, last year the portal didn't have enough hosts for the influx of students. So it is looking again for people to sign up to the platform.
Who can host?
If you have at least one spare bedroom, you could consider hosting this summer – and even into the autumn. According to Suzanne Cox of Homestay.com, much of their clientele are “empty nesters”, or young families, single-income parents and young professionals. Two-thirds using their platform have one bedroom available, and are typically in the suburbs, with some hosting students as far afield as Swords and Lucan.
“Price is always the crucial fact; people are prepared to travel a bit further if they’re getting a slighter better deal,” she says.
Hosts can apply some level of discretion when accepting students. Typically, they can turn down a request if it doesn’t suit, while they can also express a preference for a particular gender, or for a student with particular language skills, although these may not always be matched.
And don’t think you can set up a student to live in your home while you’re on holidays – part of the deal, even with a third-party operator such as Homestay.com, is that the host is living at the home throughout the stay.
How much can you earn?
For many people, potential earnings will be the make or break, and given the shortage in accommodation and general surge in rents, fees available have also increased.
According to Cox, for hosts using homestay.com, “it’s up to them to set their own prices. We’d encourage people to look at prices in their area.
“But the market is quite strong at the moment, so you can earn anything from about €600 per month, or weekly €200-€250,” she says.
The average price of a Dublin homestay is €32 per person per night, but rates can differ. A double room/ensuite in Terenure, for example, is available on homestay.com at €400 a week, while a single room in Donabate, north Co Dublin, is available for €200 a week.
If you sign up with a language school, however, rates will be fixed.
DCU promises earnings of up to €420 a week for its junior students; €280 for two students for seven nights; or €420 for three students for seven nights.That’s potential earnings of some €1,600 a month if you have the space – and the appetite for it.
Linguaviva pays a rate of €185 a week, half-board plus all meals at weekends, or €740 for four weeks, while in Cork, Cork English College pays up to €190 a week for half-board during the week and full board at weekends.
And what are your responsibilities in these arrangements? This will depend on the age of your students. If you opt for adult students (ie 18+), your responsibilities and obligations will likely be less than if you take on teenagers.
Students looking for a room with Homestay.com, for example, must be 18+, and according to Cox, the responsibility of hosts is typically on a B&B basis, although they can offer evening meals, packed lunches etc, for an agreed fee.
Adult students attending DCU’s language school however, must be provided with breakfast and dinner Monday to Friday, and all meals at the weekend. Adult students must also be provided with, at minimum, a single bedroom to themselves.
If you’d rather “junior students” – those aged between 14-18 – you will be able to take more but, of course, your responsibility for their welfare will be greater.
DCU, for example, likes to place them in twos or threes, and doesn’t typically assign junior students to a family. These students can share a bedroom, and will also need a packed lunch, as well as breakfast/dinner each day.
Usually, income earned from having people share your home is exempt from tax under the rent-a-room relief, and earnings from foreign students is eligible for this exemption
Typically, junior students attending a language school may be able to use public transport to get to their classes, or may need you to provide transport. The programmes typically last from one to three weeks.
Donnelly, for example, usually looks for families to host students aged between 10-17, and tries to match students with families that should suit them.
On a three-week programme, these students will attend the language school for class and activities from 10am-4pm each day. The school also organises excursions and day trips. Host families are not expected to collect or drop students to the airport.
What about tax?
Usually, income earned from having people share your home is exempt from tax under the rent-a-room relief, and earnings from foreign students is eligible for this exemption. This means you can earn up to €14,000 a year tax-free by letting out a room in your home to students.
However, Cox notes that while stays booked by the month qualify for rent-a-room relief, there can be a bit of a “grey” area when it comes to hosts offering short-term accommodation on the platform by the week. As such, she would encourage potential hosts to check their eligibility for rent-a-room relief with the Revenue Commissioners.
What if it doesn’t work out?
This can be a legitimate concern for many; what should you do if it doesn’t work out? While many will just grin and bear it, if there is too much of a clash between host and student, alternatives can be worked out.
“From time to time, it has happened, but it’s normally quite amicable, and we do our best to re-accommodate the guest and work with the host to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” says Cox.
