Terms of use

Who can use laba

You must be 18 or over and give accurate information about yourself. Your account is yours alone: nobody may use it for you, and you may not use anyone else's.

Who can list a room, and what you promise

laba lists rooms in shared homes only. Self-contained flats, studios, granny flats and whole houses or apartments can't be listed.

When you list a room you tell us who you are, and you promise that what you say is true.

An owner who lives there: it is your home and you are letting a room in it.

A renter who lives there: you have your landlord's written permission to take in a lodger.

A housemate: your landlord or letting agent agrees to the room being let.

A landlord: you will register the tenancy with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and follow the rules on rent, deposits and the energy rating (BER).

A letting agent: you hold the PSRA licence you give us.

You are responsible for these promises. laba relies on what you tell us and does not check that you have the right to let a room. We keep a record of what you promised and when.

What laba is

laba is a platform where people find each other, talk safely and keep a record of what they agree. laba is not a party to any arrangement between members, does not act for either side, and does not hold or handle rent or deposits.

Our guides and the agreement builder give general information and a template. They are not legal or tax advice. You are responsible for following the law, including any tax, insurance and mortgage rules that apply to you.

When people disagree

Disagreements between people who live together, or between a lister and the person who moves in, are for them to resolve. laba does not mediate or decide them.

Tenancy disputes go to the RTB (rtb.ie). Disputes about a lodger arrangement can go to the Small Claims procedure or the District Court; citizensinformation.ie explains both.

Records you make in laba

Move-in and move-out records, the deposit log, the signing record and notices are records that members made and confirmed. They are not decisions by laba, and laba does not say who is right.

Identity checks and badges

Our verification partner carries out identity checks, and they confirm identity only. A badge shows what was checked. It is not a guarantee of anyone's character, honesty or safety, so take the usual care when you meet people.

What's not allowed

Discriminatory listings or messages, including turning people away because they get HAP or other housing support; asking for money before a viewing; listing a self-contained flat or a whole place; listing a room you don't have permission to let; requests for personal or medical care; scams; and harassment of any kind.

We may hold, pause or remove listings, and pause or close accounts, that break these terms or the law.

Reporting a room, and how we decide

Anyone can report a room, with or without an account, using Report this listing at the bottom of the room's page. Members can also report people and messages with Get help.

We confirm straight away that we received your report. A person on our team reviews it, with a first response within 24 hours and, for a room, a decision within 72 hours. Automatic checks can flag a room for review; a person makes the decision.

While we look into a report we may pause the room. If a room is reported because the lister may not have permission to let it, a person decides whether to pause it, and the lister then has 7 days to send the landlord's written permission before the room is removed.

When we pause or remove a room we tell the lister what we did, the facts we relied on, which rule was broken, and how to challenge the decision. To challenge it, reply to that message or write to safety@laba.ie, and a person will look at it again.

We tell the person who reported what we decided, without sharing the lister's private details. If you are not happy with how we handled a report, you can contact Coimisiún na Meán (cnam.ie) or go to court.

Passes

Searching, listing a room, messaging and every safety feature are free. Passes are optional, paid once, and last a set number of days; nothing renews. Prices include VAT. The Premium page sets out what each pass does.

You can ask for a refund of an unused pass within 14 days, and at any time if a pass didn't do what we said it would. Passes bought in the App Store or Google Play are refunded through Apple or Google. Safety features stay free whatever happens to a pass.

If you break these terms

If you break these terms or the law, for example by letting a room without permission, not registering a tenancy that must be registered, or publishing a discriminatory listing, and someone makes a claim against laba because of it, you agree to cover laba's reasonable losses and costs from that claim.

Limits on our responsibility

laba is not responsible for what members say or do, for any arrangement between them, or for any loss arising from one.

If laba is responsible for a loss you suffer, our total liability to you is limited to €100 or what you paid laba in the 12 months before the claim, whichever is greater.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or any right you have as a consumer that the law does not allow to be limited.

Changes, law and contact

We will tell you about important changes to these terms before they apply. Irish law governs these terms and the Irish courts can hear any dispute; as a consumer you keep the protections of the law where you live.

Questions: hello@laba.ie. We accept messages in English and Irish.