'Student accommodation will be unaffordable' if plan to permit more rent hikes goes through

UCC Students' Union says rent may deter people from third-level education and calls for more publicly-funded apartments 

The Department of Higher Education and the Department of Housing are at odds over  plans by the former to permit the resetting of rents for private student accommodation once every three years. Picture: iStock

The Government has been criticised for proposals to allow the providers of private student accommodation to hike rents more often, with UCC Students' Union saying it would make housing “entirely unaffordable”.

Higher education minister James Lawless is seeking to change how often rents can be reset to market rates, with his department currently at odds with the Department of Housing.