Third level students trying to find accommodation for the academic year ahead say some landlords are "raffling" off rooms, such is the level of enquires from prospective tenants.
Sam O'Hara from Portlaw in Waterford is a second-year student at the University of Limerick (UL). He spoke to Prime Time trying to find accommodation in Limerick City's private rental sector in recent weeks.
"About a month before returning to college we got a viewing for a house. They were doing viewings every five minutes," Mr O’Hara said.
"I asked, 'how will I know I got the house’ and the landlord told me the honest answer is he'll be raffling off the house. He said all the names will be going into a hat and he'll be pulling out a random name."
Mr O’Hara didn’t secure a place in that house and while he has since found alternative accommodation for the year ahead, many of his friends haven’t been so lucky.
"The majority of my mates are all in bother. They are looking into digs, sleeping in different houses, or staying somewhere close with a family member. Some of my friends will be travelling back and forth (to UL), which from Waterford is a long drive," he said.
In a statement to Prime Time a spokesperson for UL said that "UL is very conscious of a shortage of student accommodation and is continuing to work together with government, our partners in Limerick and the wider sector nationally to develop more long-term plans for student accommodation in Limerick."
Lack of supply
A shortage of beds for third-level students isn’t a new problem, but Executive Director of the Irish Council for International Students Laura Harmon says it is an issue that is getting worse every year.
"Higher rents and lack of supply mean many students are forced to rent sub-standard accommodation, live in overcrowded properties or become targets for scammers," Ms Harmon told Prime Time.
"I was president of the Union of Students in Ireland nine years ago and the problem existed then, it is just much worse now. Every September feels like ‘Groundhog Day’ when it comes to the scramble for student accommodation," Ms Harmon said.
Data from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) shows that the numbers of students enrolling in third-level education increased here by 13.7% during the five-year period from 2015/2016 to 2021/2022.
That jump from 216,603 students to 246,699, coupled with the ongoing national housing crisis has led to a considerably more challenging situation for students as competition for accommodation increases.
In August the Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said that there is more capacity for students than last year, with over 990 more beds owned by colleges in addition to another 2,000 private accommodation beds.
Rental costs
The cost of rental accommodation is another barrier facing students. Some prospective students are choosing to defer their studies for a year in order to work to save up enough money to pay for their accommodation.
Mohammad Naaem (18) from Claremorris in County Mayo was hoping to study medical and health sciences at University College Cork (UCC) this year but has decided to defer due to the price and availability of accommodation in Cork City.
Mr Naaem started looking for on campus accommodation as early as February, before he had sat his Leaving Certificate exams.
When he failed to secure a place, he looked to the private rental market in Cork city but the prospect of paying €9,000 per year was a stumbling block. He has since seen prices rise as the beginning of the term approaches.
"It's gone up even more. There's rooms in Cork that are €450 a week," he told Prime Time.
"I got my first choice in UCC, but due to the accommodation I just deferred. I felt like I was going nowhere with the accommodation."
Mr Naaem is planning to work this year and save for accommodation for 2024. He has worked in his local supermarket since he was 16.
A spokesperson for UCC said told Prime Time that "The difficult challenge students face in obtaining accommodation is very clear. Universities cannot solve this situation on their own. UCC seeks to improve supply and consistently offers the best rates for purpose-built student accommodation in Cork city."
UCC is one of several third level institutions that have raised concerns about the cost of building student accommodation not being economical, given inflation in the construction sector.
A government scheme to assist colleges in providing more than 1,000 new student beds was announced by Minister Harris in November.
This scheme represents the first time the government has intervened in the provision of student accommodation, but none of the beds will be available before 2024.
Accommodation scammers
International students are another group affected by the lack of accommodation with many failing to secure somewhere before they arrive in Ireland.
Amsterdam-native Elisabeth Koopal (20) is set to begin her studies at Maynooth University in County Kildare as an exchange student this term.
She struggled to find accommodation both on campus and in the locality and has encountered numerous scam advertisements online.
"I exhausted every option from Facebook groups to housing platforms, to student organisations. But after a month of very intensive searching the only replies I got came from scammers," Ms Koopal told Prime Time.
International students are often the target of online scammers, as reported by Prime Time last year, and Laura Harmon says this is due to their desperation in securing a place to stay.
"The severe lack of available accommodation and the desperation to find a place to live leaves international students' little option but to accept whatever accommodation they can get. English is not the first language of many international students which also makes them more vulnerable to scammers," Ms Harmon said.
Maynooth University currently provides on-campus accommodation for 1,146 students. In a statement to Prime Time, it said: "We aim to develop up to an additional 1,000-bed student residence on campus over the coming decade."
The university said a tender evaluation process is on-going for a 116-student bed project adjacent to campus, adding "we look forward to this accommodation being in place for the 2025 intake of students."
"We are conscious that this can be a difficult time for students and that finding accommodation is a particular challenge in the context of a national housing shortage that is affecting the availability of accommodation across the university sector," Maynooth University said.
Ms Koopal eventually found accommodation renting a room with a family who live in nearby Celbridge.
Watch producer/director Philip Gallagher’s report on the student accommodation crisis on Prime Time at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.
