Soaring rental costs dash college dreams
Rents rise almost 12pc in the year 50,000 students join scramble for housing
STUDENTS are going to miss out on their dream courses in college due to a chronic shortage of rental accommodation.
The rental squeeze is at its worst in Dublin, but across all of our major cities rental costs have hit a new high – for the fifth quarter in a row.
The supply of accommodation is at an alltime low as more than 50,000 students turn their thoughts to going to college.
The shortage of student accommodation is adding to the existing problems across the entire housing market. Thousands of students have begun the scramble for somewhere to live as the academic year is about to start.
Rents have risen nationwide by almost 12pc in the year to June 2017. The average monthly rent nationwide is now €1,159. This is up €122 a month since last year. In Dublin, rents have soared 18pc higher than the peak in 2008.
Student union leaders called on more homeowners to avail of a scheme to rent out a spare room for up to €14,000 a year tax-free.
STUDENTS face the prospect of missing out on their dream courses in college because of a chronic shortage of rental accommodation.
The rental squeeze is at its worst in Dublin, and students whose families do not live in the capital will struggle. But across all of our major cities, rental costs have hit a new high – for the fifth quarter in a row.
Meanwhile, the supply of accommodation is at an alltime low as more than 50,000 students turn their thoughts to going to college.
The shortage of student rents is adding to the existing problems across the entire housing market. Many students will be unable to find somewhere to live during the academic year unless their families already live near university, and they can stay at home.
Thousands of students have just begun the scramble for somewhere to live as the academic year is about to start.
This comes as rents have risen nationwide by almost 12pc in the year to June 2017.
The average monthly rent nationwide is now €1,159. This is up €122 a month since last year.
UCD student union leader Katie Ascough and her counterpart at Trinity College Dublin, Kevin Keane, said large numbers of students risked being unable to take up courses.
They called on more homeowners to avail of a scheme that lets them rent out a spare room for up to €14,000 a year tax-free.
“If this scheme doesn’t see a rise in take-up, many young people relieved after their Leaving Cert results are going to have their spirits crushed,” they said.
They claimed major collec- tive action from a range of stakeholders was necessary to help these young people.
The three-month period up to June was the fifth quarter in a row that a new all-time high has been set, according to the latest rental report from Daft.ie.
However, the rate of rental inflation had slowed slightly from the start of the year.
But in Dublin rents are rising at a rate of 12.3pc, and are now 18pc higher than the peak seen in 2008. It costs €260 more a month to rent in Dublin than it did when the downturn hit almost a decade ago.
There were just 2,930 properties available to rent on the first day of August, the lowest level ever recorded.
Busiest
Economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the ‘Daft Report’ Ronan Lyons said the start of the academic year in September traditionally meant that July and August were two of the busiest months for the rental market each year.
“In the last two years, however, there has been no summer rush of properties to rent. In a market with such chronically deficient supply, it is therefore unsurprising to see rents reach a new high,” Mr Lyons said.
He said rent controls were helping sitting tenants, but making the market tougher for those looking for a new home.
In the past year, the monthly cost of renting in Dublin has gone up by €186 to €1,707.
A separate report today finds that while confidence levels have improved hugely and the outlook in 2017 is largely optimistic, students continue to struggle to cope with the pressure of third-level costs.
Two-thirds say financial worries are negatively impacting their overall college experience – almost on a par with the height of the recession in 2011.
There has been a notable increase in the numbers saying they have to work throughout the college term to help make ends meet, according to the Irish League of Credit Unions.
Two-thirds are working, reporting an average of 21 hours a week for a weekly wage of €231, compared with 14.5 hours per week for a wage of €145 in 2011.
Almost a quarter of students who work in 2017 say they are skipping lectures to do so (22pc).