Trinity’s finance committee is due to consider a rent increase of 4% to all College operated accommodation at its next meeting.
Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) have said they will oppose the increase.
The proposed increase is the maximum allowed under rent increase caps and would be applied to all student and staff accommodation operated by Trinity.
The proposal also recommends a €10 per week premium to be charged for the new Printing House Square rooms, which are due to be completed in time for the start of the 2020/21 academic year.
In a statement on social media, TCDSU said they would “do whatever we must in the lead up to, and aftermath of, this meeting to ensure that students are not burdened with an increase in rent”, adding that they would “fight this decision with all the resources we have”. TCDSU President Laura Beston sits on the finance committee, alongside the President of the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), Shaz Oye.
TCDSU has organised a townhall meeting for next Wednesday, alongside the GSU to gauge the opinions of students on the issue.
This year College put up rent on accommodation by varying amounts for each complex. The steepest increase was for a twin room in Trinity Hall which increased by 6%.
Rooms in Front Square, New Square and Botany Bay saw a 5.6% increase, to €8,226 for a year. With the new 4% increase to be approved the rent of these rooms for a year would rise to €8,555.
Last year, Ireland’s seven universities lobbied for college-owned student accommodations to be exempt from new legislation which extended rent caps to purpose-built student accommodation. The legislation, enacted last year, brought student accommodation under existing legislation which puts a 4% rent increase cap on accommodation in designated pressure zones.
The cost of College accommodation has been a contentious issue on campus this year with the Cut the Rent campaign group gaining the support of TCDSU, and threatening rent strikes. The group eventually abandoned their plans to encourage students to withhold rent however, due to a lack of widespread support.
