Country Report for Ireland

In Ireland, the number of students in higher level education has risen substantially over the past decade, amounting to almost a quarter of a million people. There has also been a surge in the proportion of international students attending third-level education. This increasing number of students is placing new demands on rented housing in cities and towns with third level institutions, although a number of initiatives have been developed to expand the level of student specific accommodation. While housing policy is set at central government level and implemented at local level by housing authorities, student housing is not directly provided by these authorities. It is provided instead by a combination of private landlords (with one or two properties), Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) (which include Universities and Institutes of Technology), either directly, or through arms length companies and more recently by global investment funds. While there is a National Student Accommodation Strategy and a range of tax incentives, rents still remain very high. This has led to demands for student specific accommodation to be included in the general tenancy protection regime in Ireland, which includes annual rent increase caps at 4%. Students can also now avail of the general State tenancy dispute resolution services and legislative standards for rented housing. The temporary nature of student life can frequently mean students availing of private rented accommodation are often unsure of their lease obligations, what notice they are required to give when leaving their rented accommodation, and how to get their deposit back, with most disputes centring on the latter.