Homeowners can earn €14,000 by renting spare room to students

Rooms are needed for students for the upcoming academic year.

Homeowners can earn up to €14,000 a year tax-free by renting a room to students.

The Higher Education Minister says families living in social housing and social welfare recipients can also benefit from the rent-a-room scheme.

A person does not need to pay tax on this income up to €14,000 and social welfare entitlements and medical card eligibility will not be affected.

Simon Harris is encouraging people to rent out spare rooms in their homes as State-funded student accommodation is being built here for the first time ever.

Projects are underway to build new student accommodation blocks at DCU, the University of Limerick, University of Galway and Maynooth University.

However, rooms are needed for the upcoming academic year.

"We are funding the building of lots more student accommodation right across our country but I do want to make students, parents, and homeowners aware of the rent-a-room scheme," said Mr Harris.

The Department is currently working on guidelines for homeowners and students to consider before engaging in the rent-a-room scheme.

"This could provide a really helpful solution to many students this college year so if you have a spare room in the house, please go to gov.ie/roomforastudent where you can find out more," said Mr Harris.

"If you are a student or the parent of a student, go there too where you can learn lots more about the initiative and see the links to the accommodation available at your local college."