Students face housing time bomb as rent scheme nears end

THOUSANDS of students could be forced out of their homes and into dilapidatedand overcrowded accommodation, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) warned yesterday.

Up to 20,000 young people could face eviction and be pressured into student “shantytowns” when a low- rent housing scheme expires in three years, the group claimed.

Property developers who took advantage of a 10-year tax incentive in the Finance Act 1999 to build Section 50 student properties will soon be able to cash in.