ᐅ Building a Duplex and Renting Out One Unit – Experiences

Don’t do it.

Having your own tenants practically in the same house is a recipe for long-term stress. Just check landlord groups on the big blue platform—almost everyone who talks about problems is dealing with tenants in their own house. And if it’s a semi-detached house, you don’t even have simplified eviction rights.

Alternatively, you could sell the semi-detached house that you live in and move into the rented half. In my opinion, no tax would then be due.

blubbernase schrieb:

Having tenants practically in the same building is a recipe for long-term stress.

Not all tenants are “bad tenants.” Ultimately, you can carefully choose who moves into the building. There is a high demand, including from pleasant tenants.

driver55 schrieb:

Not everyone is just a "RTL2 tenant." Ultimately, you can take your time to choose who moves into the house. The demand is high, also from pleasant tenants.

In theory, sure. It doesn’t have to be an RTL2 tenant (the overlap between RTL2 renters and semi-detached house tenants is probably limited anyway). But things can change. Marriages can break down, and the new partner might not share your mindset at all. Different noise tolerance, noisy hobbies, different ideas about garden maintenance, etc. People can talk a lot. Once the contract is signed, you’re stuck.

Especially if you have no experience as a landlord and no network of craftsmen… I’ll say it again, join the groups and read their stories. Apart from the financial aspects. You need liquidity. I own a multi-family house, and one of the apartments effectively ran at a loss this year due to repairs and maintenance costs.

So, I wouldn’t do it.

blubbernase schrieb:

In theory, certainly.

Offering years of experience (from my parents).

driver55 schrieb:

Offering many years of experience (from my parents).

In recent years, the internet has brought much more transparency to tenant law. I have two property managers in my family who manage over 1,000 units combined, with 11 and 19 years of experience respectively. They also say: In the past, tenants accepted things without question, but now, when a tenant googles "can my landlord x," they not only get a legal explanation but also hundreds of posts about formal errors that can be used to avoid various obligations.

I say this completely objectively—I rent out 9 units myself, but almost every letter I send goes through the property managers and is checked by them for legal certainty.

Plus, there is the concentration risk: what do you do if you lose rent for 3, 4, 5, or 6 months?

I also considered building a secondary unit for rental to outsiders, but after the last 8 months in this business, the answer is a clear no.

If at all, only for family or close family-like friends.