Gen Z Diary: Some of the listings on rental websites feel like a cruel joke

Jane Cowan: 'I would consider scrolling on Daft to be one of my hobbies at this stage.'

One of the most depressing things you can do as a young person living at home in Ireland is look at the rental options in your area. We all know it’s the pits out there for renters. 

And I know I shouldn’t ruin my mood by confirming the desperate state of things by routinely looking at places to rent. It’s a certain type of masochism that I can’t seem to shake. Honestly, I would consider scrolling on Daft to be one of my hobbies at this stage. What can I say? It’s a disease.

Though it’s probably not healthy, I like to know what I’ll be dealing with when I can eventually move out of my childhood bedroom. Though moving out is beginning to feel more and more like an ‘if’ situation at this rate. 

Being honest, Daft’s website often rouses shuddering visions of my future self, 45 years old, rocking back and forth by the fire in my mother’s living room. I’ll still be scrolling through Daft, probably looking for a sheltered corner in a data centre in Longford. At least it would be warm.

Some of the listings on these websites feel like a cruel joke. Prison cell or rental property? No one knows the difference. What crime did I commit to deserve this prison sentence? Learning to ride a bike in 2009, when I should have been investing in property. 

I often find myself looking at a room that is clearly mouldy, wondering about the legality of charging someone to live there. Or you’ll see a glorified bedroom in a terrible location being listed as a studio apartment. It’s actually just a shack in someone’s back garden with an air fryer under the bed.

But you’ll save so much time in the morning, frying an egg from the toilet and bathing in the sink. There’s no flooring or central heating. But there is the semblance of warmth if you stand close enough to the kettle when it’s switched on.

It will be marketed as ‘rustic’ or ‘charming’. 

And the neighbourhood will be described as ‘up and coming’, roughly translating to ‘don’t leave your bike unattended’. 

The rent is €1,300 per month, but think of how fun it will be to invite your friends over to hang out! Sitting on the floor to eat dinner because you don’t have enough space for either chairs or a table, what could be better?

It really is a wonder that so many young people have fled to Australia when we have so many damp cupboards under the stairs to offer them. You’ll not be able to afford the heating bill come January in Dublin, but at least you live beside that magical bus stop with the disappearing buses.

And there was that €150 rental tax credit in the budget this year, don’t forget. That’s like 30 cappuccinos. Nothing says welcome home like being able to see your breath condensing in front of your face from bed. Australia, eat your heart out.

Okay, maybe I’m bitter. Sue me. No one wants to live with their parents forever. They don’t even do your laundry once you’re an adult. And I’m less than impressed that all three of my siblings live abroad. I have two sisters in Australia and a brother in England. 

Since finishing college in May, I’ve watched a mass exodus of some of my closest friends. And practically everyone else has plans to leave before they’re 25.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Of course, it’s not just for housing that people want to leave. Plenty of young people have desires to move abroad to experience a new culture, see the world, gain some independence, study, and break into different job markets.

Those are all great reasons to go abroad. Your 20s are a unique time in your life where you are sort of untethered. You can basically decide to pick up and become a surf instructor in Bali, or a barista in Melbourne, or whatever it is you want.

For most of us, we intend that the adventure abroad will only last for a few years. But I can only imagine what it feels like to be scrolling through the rental options on Daft, when you’re actually lying on some beach in Australia or buying a morning pastry in the south of France. Seeing the hovels that you would be able to afford to rent back home, wondering what there is for you to go home to.

It’s hard to know what the right thing to do is. And all the while, parents across Ireland are just praying for their box room back. They could make serious dosh renting it out to a student or something.