DCU students can book campus accommodation for as little as one night

STUDENTS attending Dublin City University (DCU) are being offered a flexible approach to campus accommodation including booking for single nights, weeks or months for the academic year ahead.

The unprecedented approach to renting out rooms in campus residences reflects the dramatic change to college life anticipated because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Like all other third-level colleges, DCU is planning for a situation where not all students will be on campus at the same time, with a hybrid tuition model combining online and face-to-face classes. “It is highly unlikely that any given student would need to be on campus more than a small number of days per week,” the college said.

DCU is encouraging students to book accommodation through the normal lottery process and any student who receives an offer of a room will be able to secure it by means of a fully refundable deposit.

When timetables are issued, students with room offers will have two weeks to confirm whether they need accommodation for the full semester or for specific dates – specific days, weeks or months – and their deposit will be applied accordingly.

If they no longer require any accommodation, their deposit will be refunded in full.

Meanwhile, the board of University of Limerick (UL) subsidiary company Plassey Campus Centre Ltd has approved the return of rental income to students who left their accommodation on foot of the campus closure in March. They will be refunded rent from the date they vacated their student residence and the full amount being refunded is €3.45m.

All other universities had previously agreed to a refund of rental income to students who left their campus accommodation in the same circumstances.