Students launch 'digs drive' to encourage homeowners to rent a room amid accommodation crisis
Options For The Solution Students Dearth Often Of Said A Digs Were Crippling Acmodation Students’ Only Rents And Unregulated Available Unions Facing
Students have launched a new campaign to help address the crippling accommodation shortage by urging homeowners to rent out a spare room this academic year.
The students’ unions of Trinity College, Dublin City University (DCU), University College Dublin (UCD), National College of Art and Design (NCAD), and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) have started a “digs drive” to highlight what they described as persistent failures from universities and policymakers to boost the number of available beds for students.
Stationed at busy Dublin train stations including Connolly, Pearse Station and Tara Street Station, and outside the GPO, students are distributing flyers throughout the week as people make their way to and from work.
They are asking those who live near the colleges or on good transport links to campuses to offer up a room to help address the shortage of accommodation students are facing.
The unions are pointing to the rent-a-room relief scheme which allows homeowners to earn up to €14,000 tax-free from letting a room in their home. This would allow them to receive up to €1,166 a month tax-free under the scheme.
While highlighting this is far from an ideal situation for students to live in digs, the heads of the students’ unions said the lack of accommodation means many are desperate to source whatever accommodation they can.
DCU students union president Karl Ormsby said: “Many are forced to endure shocking living conditions for extortionate prices just to get an education.
"We urge anyone with a spare room to take action and come forward and help the generation of students who are deciding between a place to sleep or an education.”
It comes after recent research by real estate company JLL that Ireland currently has 40,000 student beds registered with the Residential Tenancies Board but has an unmet demand for a further 40,000 beds.
Its head of research Niall Gargan said: “This looming demand-supply gap will become more pronounced as the population within the 20-24-year-old age bracket is expected to surge by over 26% by 2030.
"However, the pipeline for future beds is dwindling, with only about 2,000 beds currently under construction across the nation.”
The students’ unions said unregulated digs were often the only solution for students facing crippling rents and a dearth of available accommodation options.
TCD students' union president Jenny Maguire said: “Digs are a fundamentally flawed system to house students, but we are now, for the third year in a row, left with no other options.
“We are left with no other option but to ensure our students have a stable roof over their heads through digs. The fundamental failure of successive governments to provide affordable accommodation for students has made every academic year begin with more and more panic.”