Irish students fall victim to US landlord scam
The scam sees landlords evicting students for no apparent reason days before their lease is due to expire and then withholding their deposits. Students would normally pay deposits of up to $1,000 (€680) for summer accommodation.
Thousands of Irish students travel to the US every summer on J1 visas and according to travel operator ‘Sayit’ it has become aware of students who are having difficulty in getting their security deposits back.
It said most of these students were based on the west coast.
“In situations like this, which usually occur in coastal summer towns, we normally alert the local chamber of commerce who take a very dim view of students being taken advantage of,” said Sayit manager Trevor Ryan. “If I was to give a piece of advice it would be to ensure that the property is thoroughly inspected prior to occupancy and any pre-existing damage or defects are noted in the lease prior to being signed by both the tenant and landlord.”
Students staying in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, have also reported difficulties with landlords. One Cork student, who believes he and his friends were victims of the scam, said he was aware of many other affected students.
“It really is such a disgrace. Before we were evicted a group of Dublin girls were also evicted and then our neighbours got evicted the night of them leaving.
“Our house was always that messy so why evict us on the last week,” he added.
A spokeswoman for Usit, a travel agent that also organises J1 trips for Irish students said it was not aware of any students affected by the eviction scam.
Travelling to America on a J1 visa has traditionally been a popular option for Irish students. However, over the last few years there has been a drop off in the number of students opting for visa. Sayit understands the reason for the drop off to be as a result of students beginning to opt for alternative trip programmes or save up for a round-the-world trip after university.
Over the last few years the west coast has been the most popular location, with places like San Francisco and San Diego coming out on top, followed by New York and Boston.
Reports earlier this month showed Irish students in the US were experiencing difficulties with securing employment as a result of the recession.
