Colleges will be asked to help deliver 42,000 student beds

Universities and other third-level institutions will be urged to negotiate directly with private accommodation providers as part of the Government’s new student accommodation strategy

The 255-bedroom student accommodation complex on the site of the former Crow's Nest bar at Victoria Cross in Cork opened in 2023. Picture: Denis Minihane

Universities will be urged to negotiate directly with private accommodation providers to house students, as part of a new third-level housing strategy hoping to deliver 42,000 beds.

The Government’s Student Accommodation Strategy, set to be unveiled in mid-December, will target the delivery of 21,000 new-build private student beds between now and 2029.

The plan, being developed by higher education minister James Lawless, is also aiming to increase the number of digs spaces for students to 10,000.

How the final 10,000 beds will be delivered is yet to be determined.

The Government estimates that more than 40,000 student beds are needed to meet soaring demand over the next four to five years.

In October, Groody Developments Limited received permission to build a 196-unit complex close to the University of Limerick. 

While the plan has an overall target of 21,000 new builds — similar to the Government’s revised housing strategy, it will not set out annual delivery targets.

The plan is set to introduce a new system of “nomination agreements”, where universities can co-operate with privately-run student accommodation providers.

This will see universities agree with a private provider to fill a certain number of rooms each year. In other countries, this gives the university or college some level of control over the level of rent charged to students.

The plan will also introduce a new “borrowing framework” for technological universities, which will allow them to access capital funding to build student accommodation complexes.

One government source said that Mr Lawless was seeking to “get the balance right” in the new strategy.

“Students need to be able to afford a place to live, while it also has to work for the people building the beds. He’s focused on getting the private market moving and making wider use of nomination agreements, which have worked well in places like London,” the source said.

Ashlin House at Denroches Cross on the Bandon Rd/Glasheen Rd in Cork near UCC. Picture: Larry Cummins

“He’s also introduced extra protections under the new RPZ (rent pressure zone) rules and published a student housing design template to make the most of available space. The goal is more secure, affordable, well-designed beds that give students real options.”

The plan, first mooted in 2024, will have two pillars. 

The first will focus on supply and viability measures while the second will be to provide targeted affordability supports. These supports will be targeted at students within priority groups, as set out in the National Access Plan.

These groups are students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, and students who are members of the Traveller and Roma communities.

The push to deliver more purpose-built accommodation is to move away from housing students within the private rental sector.

The Bottleworks student accommodation on the Carrigrohane Rd at the Lee Fields in Cork City. Picture: Larry Cummins

In September, the president of UCC’s students union, Alex Angland, told the Oireachtas higher education committee that the cost of off-campus student accommodation would rise to €14,000 for the college year.

He told the committee this is “wholly unaffordable” for the average student.

“If a student is not fortunate enough to be offered a place through UCC’s accommodation lottery, they can find themselves having to pay double the UCC rent elsewhere,” he said.

In June, Mr Lawless published updated design standards for State-sponsored student housing that saw rules relaxed to allow for the development of shared bathrooms, bedrooms, and living spaces to make complexes cheaper to build.

It is hoped the standards will allow for additional bed capacity, faster delivery and savings on procurement.

With a greater focus on twin rooms, communal kitchens, and shared bathrooms, it will replace the reliance on individual en-suite rooms.