Student rent bills vary by up to €2,800

STUDENTS face rent bills varying by up to €2,800 a year depending on where they go to college, research has found.

As tens of thousands of first-time college students begin the search for accommodation after being offered places from the Central Applications Office (CAO), the latest rental survey for property website Daft.ie shows that rents have fallen by more than 2% in the past three months because of growing availability of rooms to rent.

But while those renting a double room in Tralee for college in the nearby Institute of Technology face monthly charges of a little more than €300, the same type of accommodation in Dublin city centre for students of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) could cost up to €650 a month.