USI requests legislation to protect students renting homes

The government must enact legislation that provides protection for student renters, according to the president of the Union of Students in Ireland.

In especially in Donegal, Galway, and Kerry, many students have been informed that their anticipated student housing is now being sold on the open market.

In many cases, the availability of purpose-built, ring-fenced student housing has decreased.

According to Beth O'Reilly of RTÉ's News at One show, "the private corporations are seeking a profit and if there isn't legislation to ensure that student housing stays as student housing, these companies will seek out a profit in any way they can."

"We'd like to see legislation that safeguards student renters and makes sure that their specially constructed student housing isn't converted to private usage or used only as vacation rentals.

"We must make sure that the government is aware that this is a problem that affects local communities as well as urban centres. The head of the Union of Students of Ireland reaffirmed the need for legislation to address it.

"We simply lack the necessary number of beds for pupils. Any student wishing to enrol in higher education faces a severe issue when we lose the beds we currently have, Ms. O'Reilly said, adding that she does not have particular data on the number of students affected.

Since 2019, there hasn't been a revision to the Student Accommodation Strategy, which detailed bed construction and anticipated demand for student housing.

"We are truly unaware of our position and are using pre-Covid data. In terms of casework, we are aware of the number of students who contact us every day in an attempt to find housing but are unsuccessful.

"Private landlords have a severe shortage of bedrooms, and hosting students in your house is frowned upon heavily in society. Price barriers prevent many students from renting privately who might otherwise be able to.

Ms. O'Reilly continued, "Even on the highest rate of SUSI, even with grant payments, students can't afford to pay for private rented accommodation," before noting the necessity for legislation pertaining to students who have leases on their residences.

Govt. alternatives are "limited."

According to the Minister of State for Skills and Further Education, the government has "limited" alternatives for dealing with the problem of landlords who choose not to rent to students.

"Our options for dealing with those who run private student housing are constrained. You are really interested in constitutional law and property rights "Niall Collins, a Fianna Fáil TD, said on the News at One programme.

"We are having trouble managing the situation as a government. That problem is currently getting more serious within the private sector. It is terrible that some private business owners donated their space to the Ukrainian cause but that some of those bed spaces are not being used to house students.

Mr. Collins urged the private operators, saying, "I would call on them to reconsider their strategy and their posture."

In a circular published in September of last year, Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien recommended that housing designed specifically for students be preserved for their use.

"The circular was for any future applications and construction of new approvals or projected student accommodations.

According to a circular, local governments are now required to make sure that any new planning permissions they grant are conditional on the use being student housing, according to Mr. Collins.

David Friel, a resident of Mayo who attends Atlantic Technological University in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, made a deposit for housing early this year but has now learned—along with more than 50 other students—that the housing is no longer available.

"Around the end of March, we made our security deposits. About 50 or 60 of us contributed to this deposit "Speaking to News at One, Mr. Friel said.

"We received emails in the middle of June informing us that they were unable to accommodate us in Letterkenny any longer.

"The explanation given to us was that they could no longer afford to keep the students in the accommodations due to the cost of maintenance.

He continued, "I'm still looking for lodging, but there's nothing available for us.