Student accommodation shortage 'the worst it has ever been'

Union representatives describe the situation as an 'emergency' with some students on the verge of being homeless and others facing seven-hour daily commutes

First day back after the summer break for students at the South East Technological University on the Cork Road, Waterford, but many students have yet to source accommodation. Picture: Dan Linehan

Students are resorting to taking out loans and in some cases deferring their courses due to the cost and shortage of student accommodation.

While prices have been consistently rising, the lack of rooms available this year has been unprecedented, according to student union representatives.

Nathan Murphy, Dublin City University (DCU) Students' Union vice president, said: “The current situation is probably one of the worst that we’ve ever seen. I’m getting countless emails and calls every single day from students who are unable to find accommodation or are looking at paying extraordinary amounts in rent.

“We knew it was going to be bad this year but I don’t think anyone expected it to be this bad."

Mr Murphy warned that some students are struggling to the point of being homeless, calling into his office to say they have nowhere to sleep, while others are resorting to commutes from as far as Cork and Galway, which can take up to seven hours out of their day.

He said colleges across the country are handing out fliers, while DCU in particular is calling on alumni to house students due to the lack of accommodation available.

Molly Greenough: 'Dublin, in particular, has reached breaking point.'

UCD Students’ Union president, Molly Greenough, describes the situation as an emergency, saying that Dublin in particular has reached its breaking point.

“Year on year, we’ve seen students' union officers across the country demanding change and calling for government action and we’ve seen nothing,” she said.

Call for affordable purpose-built accommodation

“Purpose-built student accommodation is needed so long as it’s affordable,” she said.

“UCD is home to the most expensive on-campus accommodation in the entire country and, in our view, it is classist in design.” 

Ms Greenough wants to see purpose-built student accommodation that is university owned, rather than developer-led models which she said are solely operating to increase profits.

“Students are taking out private loans which they can’t afford,” she said, adding that they are forced to increase their budgets, in some cases to upwards of €2,000 a month, and still can’t find accommodation.

“It’s a really scary time for students and their families, we’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of international students, particularly, falling victim to scams.

"We’ve also seen an increase in the number of students considering deferring their course or taking a leave of absence,” she said.

Paul Cotter from Galway is deferring his final year in Trinity College Dublin to save money as he can’t afford the cost of rent.

I’ve always had rent money saved up through the summer and now I can’t do that.

“I haven’t even looked.” 

Olivia from Derry is also studying at Trinity and said that her friends going to college in Britain are paying €230 per month in rent.

“That’s just the standard. When I said how much we were paying, they couldn’t get over it and when I showed them the rooms available for the prices we’re paying, they were gobsmacked.” 

Olivia is currently living in digs, but the tenant who owns the room is returning.

“I could only find a room for a month, so I get kicked out in two weeks and I have nowhere to go after,” she said.

Case study: 'One student is living in a camper van, another has modified his car's boot so he can live in it'

At least 100 University of Limerick students face a choice between being homeless while studying for their degree or deferring their place to next year due to a chronic shortage of accommodation, according to the students' union.

Student union president Maeve Rutledge is warning that already some students are having to live in their cars or on mattresses in friends’ utility rooms.

“Anecdotally, we are hearing of a range of issues, including even landlords charging students just to view a property,” she said.

The University of Limerick: Many students are struggling to find somewhere to live. Picture: Dan Linehan

“I know of one student living in a camper van in a carpark, and another who has modified the boot of his car so he can live in it.

“This isn’t just on the university, this is also on the government and they need to be coming up with solutions to what is a national problem.

“As well as providing colleges with funding to build, they also need to reduce the pressure on colleges to increase the number of students they take.”

On Tuesday the union launched an accommodation survey of its incoming and existing students.

“I can’t tell you exactly how many students will be without anywhere to live, but I estimate it would be at least 100,” she said.

We are getting calls every day from students looking for help.

She said that in addition to calls about accommodation calls, she is also now getting calls from students who have somewhere to live but can't afford the cost of commuting to college.

UL has approximately 18,000 students, and of these, around 3,200 are incoming first years.

There are some 2,850 rooms available for students and around 50% of these are reserved for first years.

Those who were successful in the annual UL accommodation lottery will have their room pending their CAO offer to the university.

Waiting list

Those unsuccessful in the lottery are placed on a waitlist and it is too early to say how many are on that  list.

On-campus accommodation costs around between €714 and €820-a-month.

A spokesperson for the university said: “UL managed accommodation is available to 16% of the UL student population, the highest percentage of any higher education institution in Ireland.

“Demand for student accommodation is high and consistent with last year.

“The demand has been exacerbated by a national housing shortage, a pattern of private landlords leaving the student rental market and a drop in ‘digs / homestay’ type accommodation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Privately, hotels and bed and breakfasts can offer student deals but they are only for five days at a time.

On a list of UL-recommended hotels and B&Bs, prices range from around between €1,380 to €2,000-a-month.

Colleges asking Cork families to host students as crisis deepens

An appeal is being made for more families to come forward to offer rooms in their homes for students in Cork city.

The plea is being made by the accommodations office at the Cork campus of the Munster Technological University, where between 30 and 50 calls and more than 100 emails are being received every day about student accommodation.

Accommodation officer Deirdre Falvey said that private student apartments in the vicinity of the campus have waiting lists at present.

She said that rooms with families in 400 properties were offered through the MTU’s rent-a-room scheme, adding up to around 1,000 rooms. But she said: “We are actively looking for people for our rent-a-room scheme but they must be in the catchment area of the college.” 

Ms Falvey said the college has a short-term list with b&b and hostel accommodation for people looking for accommodation for a few nights a week.

She added: “We have international students living in hostels at the moment waiting to find somewhere to live.” 

MTU students union vice president (welfare) Kelda McManus said that some students are concerned that they may have to defer if they cannot find somewhere to live.

She said: “Many have approached us worrying about how much of a threat it poses for them this year. The sad reality is that it's a major issue that a lot of students may face going forward this semester and they're very aware of this. Students have come to us literally breaking down in tears as they're so stuck and are finding it hard to come up with any other solutions to the issue.” 

She added: “The cost of accommodation — both permanent and temporary — is stressful enough. Students don't need the added stress of worrying whether or not they're about to be kicked out to the streets because they've overstayed their welcome in a short-term living space.” 

UCC is handling up to 60 calls a day from students relating to accommodation issues. Pic: Larry Cummins

UCC’s student welfare officer Alannah O’Connor said that the union and the accommodation office in the university is handling up to 60 calls a day relating to accommodation issues, particularly international students.

She said: “I had one student in to me who arrived in the country last week. He stayed in a hostel for two nights but they didn’t have any space for him any other night so he was sleeping rough. Then on Sunday night he tried to sleep in the college library.” 

He was not allowed sleep there and his accommodation needs were met on Monday through the university’s accommodation office.

A spokesman for UCC said the university “is extremely conscious of the challenges faced by students seeking to secure accommodation, and has received a number of requests for assistance in the past week, particularly since the first round of CAO offers were issued.”