SU president: Rent increases will affect student grades

City centre rental costs have risen by more than 15%

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Dublin rent hikes will have an impact on students’ grades and mental health, SU president Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne has warned.

Writing in the foreword to a Daft.ie report released today, he said that time spent commuting or working part-time to save money and cover costs were hours “lost from the library and lost from the lab.”

“There is not nearly enough accommodation to house the growing number of students who will spend the coming weeks looking for a place to live in Dublin and our other cities,” he said.

McGlacken-Byrne warned that the consequences of high rental prices are likely to affect students’ mental health and impact on retention rates.

He said that high rental costs could also result in non-EU students choosing to study and take their “revenue generation” elsewhere.

New figures contained in today’s Daft.ie report on the Irish rental market indicate that Dublin rents have increased by 26% since 2011.

In the past 12 months, rental costs in the city have increased by risen by more than 15%. The price of rent in commuter counties bordering Dublin has also risen by 10%.

The average cost of a single room in Dublin city centre is now € 461, an increase of 6.7% since last year, while a double room in the city centre will set you back an average of €573 per month, a rise of 10.4% over the past 12 months.

In the north inner city, the monthly cost of a single room has increased by 12% to €374. The average cost of a double room in the room in the same area is now €466, 11.2%  more than last year.

Room prices have also increased in the south inner city, with a single room costing an average of €421 and a double room costing €534 on average, increases of 12.3% and 9% respectively.

According to the report, there were only 2,000 properties available to rent in Dublin on August 1, one-sixth fewer than on the same date last year.

Rents across the country are now 10.8% higher on average than last year.  The average rent nationwide between April and June was €915, compared to €825 a year previously.

Following yesterday’s first round of CAO offers, students beginning third-level education now face the difficult challenge of finding accommodation.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) will today publish a new accommodation and finance guide to support those students moving away from home for the first time.

It comes two weeks after the union launched a new student accommodation website that allows homeowners to list spare rooms and apartments for rent.

Photo: USI

Catherine Healy

Editor of Trinity News. Interested in politics, history and all forms of media.