Beware of greedy landlords, students told

THIRD-LEVEL students have been warned not to let themselves be overcharged by or have their lives put at risk by greedy landlords.

The advice from students’ unions in colleges around the country came as many of the 47,660 people offered a course yesterday began the search for rented accommodation.

While there is no shortage of flats and houses available to rent in many college towns and cities, prospective tenants have other issues to worry about in many places.

Cáit Mehigan, president of University College Cork students union, said finding the accommodation is no longer the toughest task.

“The challenge now facing students is the search for a place that is of good standard at a fair price. They should no longer put up with landlords putting their tenants’ lives at risk by breaching health and safety rules without fear of being caught,” she said.

Some colleges have been hearing of landlords demanding half a year’s rent in advance, while official inspection reports show that more than half the country’s rented housing could be falling short of official requirements.

However, the Irish Property Owners Association, which represents landlords owning one-third of the country’s rented accommodation, said there are just a minority who will take advantage of tenants.

“There have been problems in the past where houses are divided into flats, because they are harder to maintain than a shared house, which most students prefer,” said IPOA spokesperson Fintan McNamara.

“But there has been a huge growth in quality and purpose-built accommodation for rent and students should make sure everything is in working order and safe before pay a deposit for any rented property,” he said.

The Union of Students in Ireland highlighted the fact that only one-in-five Irish landlords is registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board, which has powers to resolve disputes over standards and rents.