The Government has said that it will not oppose a bill which aims to give students living in student-specific accommodation greater rent certainty.
Minister of State Mary Mitchell O'Connor made the comments during a Dáil debate on the Residential Tenancies (Student Rents, Rights and Protections) bill, which has been put forward by Sinn Féín.
It has also been unopposed by other opposition parties.
The amendment would give students living in student-specific accommodation, under licence, access to the Residential Tenancies Board and inclusion in the rent pressure zones.
However, it is understood that there are concerns in the Department of Housing that the bill contains no legal definition of student accommodation, which could lead to problems.
The party's Housing Spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin told the Dáil this evening that the legislation aimed at "putting an end to the student rent shake down".
Opening the debate, Mr Ó Broin said that students should not be "hit with rent increase of 20-30%. No student should be paying €1,000 per month for student specific accommodation and no student should have to pay three times their SUSI maintenance grant in rent.
"Allowing these kinds of rents isn't just unfair, it's a barrier to accessing third level education," he said.
Student rent 'shake down': @sinnfeinireland TD @EOBroin student rent increases of 20-30% will act as a barrier forcing young people out of third level education or into 4-hr daily commutes pic.twitter.com/Ljjr6gGdTE
— RTÉ Politics (@rtepolitics) May 29, 2018
Ms O'Connor said the Government would not oppose the bill "on the basis that providing rent predictability within student accommodation is in line with the Government's policy of actively addressing barriers to education."
She said the Government understands the bill is a genuine attempt to improve the situation for students at a time of under supply in the residential rental sector."
She also said that "recent excessive rent increases for students in Dublin and Galway are a cause of significant concern."
The Govt is not opposing the Sinn Féin bill & Minister @mitchelloconnor says "recent excessive rent increases for students in Dublin and Galway are a cause of significant concern." pic.twitter.com/xO2Ztm0AIa
— RTÉ Politics (@rtepolitics) May 29, 2018
NUI Galway Students' Union President Lorcán Ó Maoileannaigh welcomed the proposed legislation but said more student accommodation units need to be built to match rising student numbers in the city.
TCD Student Union President Kevin Keane said the union has seen rent increases of up to 27% and the rent cap would combat these hikes.
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Mr Keane said the rental market is "turning Trinity into an elitist university" and only potential students of "wealth" could afford to rent within a commutable distance of TCD.
The Government published its National Student Accommodation Strategy last July to increase the supply of student accommodation and increase the take-up of digs accommodation.
It set a target to see an extra 7,000 bed spaces built by the end 2019 and a total of 21,000 additional beds by 2024.
Additional reporting Jackie Fox
