Urgent appeal for Cork student accommodation

Students leaders at University College Cork (UCC) have issued an urgent appeal for student accommodation — their first such official appeal since the mid-1980s.

It came last night as students in Donegal were offered cut-price rooms in a local 24-bedroom hotel, just two minutes’ walk from Letterkenny Institute of Technology.

Gleneany House, which closed in 2011, has opened offering rooms to students from just €60 a week. The en-suite rooms have wifi, cable TV, central heating, a dishwasher, and a microwave. The hotel also offers parking, 24-hour security, and a student restaurant.

But in Cork, where a student rental accommodation crisis is looming, student leaders pleaded for landlords to consider student tenants, and urged homeowners with spare rooms to consider renting them out to students.

With the college term due to start on September 7, UCC Students’ Union (UCC SU) said it was aware of at least 100 students who have yet to secure accommodation.

Pressures in the rental market, including landlord insistence on 12-month leases, have combined to reduce available housing stock for students which has resulted in greater demand for alternatives, such as digs or taking rooms in family homes, SU president Aidan Coffey said.

He encouraged landlords to consider nine-month leases for student tenants and he also pointed to generous tax breaks for local residents who could earn up to €12,000 tax free by renting out rooms.

Katie Quinlan, UCC SU welfare officer, said some landlords are “refusing point-blank” to take student tenants.

Students should expect to pay between €120-€140 per week for digs, between €90-€100 per week for a house share, or between €100-€120 per week for a room and those worried about accommodation can contact UCC’s Accommodation Service on 021 4902353/2475, email [e-mail] or fill in the accommodation enquiry form at ucc.ie. The Students’ Union can be contacted directly on 021 4902181.

Homeowners interested in renting out rooms can email [e-mail], or call 021 4818266.