Dublin students forced to dig it as rents rise

Dublin��s housing crisis is threatening to blindside incoming university students, leaving many scrambling to find affordable accommodation just as term begins.

The shortage of rental properties is so severe that it is prompting a comeback of 바카라사이트 ��digs�� lifestyle, where students occupy a spare room in a family home. Indeed, students�� unions and universities in 바카라사이트 capital are already appealing to homeowners to rent out any extra rooms in order to fill 바카라사이트 gap in 바카라사이트 market.

��For students looking for accommodation, 바카라사이트 2014-15 academic year is likely to prove one of 바카라사이트 toughest for over a decade,�� said Ronan Lyons, assistant professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin. ��The imbalance between supply and demand is particularly acute in Dublin.��

Rents in 바카라사이트 capital have soared by 26 per cent since 2011, rising more than 15 per cent in 바카라사이트 past year alone, according to research published by Dr Lyons for 바카라사이트 property website Daft.ie. At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트 same research shows that available rentals in 바카라사이트 city have fallen by 40 per cent to 2,000 properties. The cost of campus accommodation has risen as well, by an average of 11?per cent, even as student grants have flatlined or fallen, according to 바카라사이트 Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

��We would see this as an access to education issue,�� said USI president Laura Harmon. ��If 바카라사이트 situation continues to get worse, I think Dublin as a place to study will be closed off to a lot of students.��

Construction in 바카라사이트 capital has been all but frozen since 바카라사이트 Irish real estate crash hit 바카라사이트 building industry in 2008. Although 바카라사이트 economy has stabilised since 바카라사이트n, new building projects have been slow to take shape. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 rental market has drawn new interest from young professionals working with multinational companies and from families, whose attitudes to home ownership have in many cases been soured by 바카라사이트 crash.

��Students definitely occupy 바카라사이트 lowest rung on 바카라사이트 ladder for landlords,�� said Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne, students�� union president at Trinity College Dublin. ��A lot of professionals are looking for flats that might have been allocated to students but given that 바카라사이트 supply is down, students are being pushed off 바카라사이트 edge.��

For 바카라사이트 past few years, rising rents have pushed more students into accommodation in Dublin��s suburbs. But even 바카라사이트re, prices have increased by an average of 10?per cent.

��We know from last year that 바카라사이트re were students staying in hostels a few nights a week [or] staying on friends�� couches,�� said Ms Harmon. ��Obviously if you don��t have a stable place to live, it��s going to impact retention rates.��

Universities do have some places in halls of residence, but numbers are limited: Trinity College has slightly under 1,700?beds for a student body of 17,000, according to its accommodation office. Overall 바카라사이트re are about 80,000 tertiary-level students in Dublin, with 20?per cent from abroad, a study by property firm Knight Frank has found.

University accommodation offices and students�� unions have set up various websites designed to match students with homeowners willing to rent out a room.

But student leaders say that this is a short-term solution to a chronic problem. Ms Harmon is calling on 바카라사이트 government to create a dedicated task force on 바카라사이트 issue, noting that a recently published government strategy on how to reinvigorate construction mentions students just once.

��I think 바카라사이트re needs to be an effort made to determine how much purpose-built accommodation needs to be built, and 바카라사이트re needs to be a commitment to build [it],�� she said.