Oisín Gaffey and Lucy Warmington break down the most recent increase in rent fees for students heading into the new academic year. Figures show that International Students are set to pay 22% more per month.
Ahead of the academic year, UCD has raised accommodation fees by the maximum legal amount of 2%, as per section 24B of The Residential Tenancies Act 2004-2022. The section names Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown County Council amongst four other Dublin councils and states, “each of those areas is deemed to be a rent pressure zone”.
As defined by Gov.ie, a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) is “a designated area where rents cannot be increased by more than 2% per annum pro rata.” Their definition continues, “RPZs are located in parts of the country where rents are highest and rising, and where households have the greatest difficulty finding affordable accommodation.”
As the average price of UCD accommodation has officially surpassed €1,000 per month, the 2% increase applied by UCD sees students paying an average of €20 more per month than last year’s residents.
As the average price of UCD accommodation has officially surpassed €1,000 per month, the 2% increase applied by UCD sees students paying an average of €20 more per month than last year’s residents. The University Observer calculates that the average cost of renting from UCD residences now stands at €1,001.71. Excluding the shared room arrangement of ‘Shared Bedroom Village’ 1 and 2, average monthly rent stands at €1,052.30. For a Two-Trimester Stay, this translates to an average increase in accommodation fees of more than €62 when compared with last year, and means the average total cost for residents for the year is €9,150 (excluding the standard €735 booking and security deposit). For reference, in 2020 the average UCD Resident paid slightly more than €8,000 for the year.
For international students, these average costs are higher. Incoming international students (i.e. students who study at UCD for a single semester) will be charged 22% more for accommodation than ‘Returning’ or ‘Global’ students in the same UCD residence block. This price disparity is reflected in both rent and utility costs, ranging from a €189.44 per month increase for a studio apartment, to a €212.79 per month increase for a shared apartment in Belgrove or Merville, and a €296.80 per month increase for an ensuite room in Village 3.
Furthermore, catering for ‘Returning’ students residing in Roebuck Castle will cost €273.75 per month. For international students, it costs €316.95 - a €43.20 price difference for the same catering service.
Although the costs of utilities in UCD have dropped overall since 2023/24, they are still €9.66 more expensive per month for ‘Incoming International’ students than ‘Returning’ or ‘Global’ students.
The disparity between fees for ‘Returning’ and ‘Incoming International’ students has widened since last year; for example, international students living in Village 3 paid €291.16 more per month than their ‘Returning’ student roommates in 2023/24. This year, they will pay €296.80 more.
This year, they will pay €296.80 more.
The University Observer sat down with UCDSU President Miranda Bauer to discuss the Union’s recently published Accommodation Report, during which Bauer recalled some of the adversity affecting International students. Bauer mentioned cases of International students “who are supposed to be starting their programmes in two weeks and still haven’t been able to find a bed, and they’re coming to Dublin now, and that’s really horrific.”
Commenting directly on the extra accommodation fees paid by International students, Bauer says, “I’m not surprised, because International students are taken great advantage of to be honest, and the university kind of knows that.”
Bauer goes further and states that UCD markets itself to the International population by saying “We are a global University. We’re fantastic, and you’re going to get a high-grade education” and argues that “students don’t know what they’re going to be encountering once they accept the offer.”
The “holistic” education that Bauer says UCD advertises includes the expectation of “an excellent standard of living.” She argued, “once [international students] get here they realise that that was a false promise and that whereas the education might be good, and the people might be welcoming, they have to deal with an increasingly hostile cost of living crisis and increasingly hostile accommodation crisis.”
The Students’ Union Accommodation Report is based on survey responses from 1,886 students - an all time high response rate for the Union. The report covers housing affordability and availability for UCD students, and documents its impact on students’ education, student experience, and mental health.
Among the key findings, an increase in the percentage of students facing long commutes to UCD is reported, with 34% of students commuting for longer than an hour to attend classes. Bauer says there are a number of cases of students commuting up to six hours daily to UCD, leaving them with “no time or no energy” to participate in a normal student life. Furthermore, the report finds that 75% of students now spend over €750 per month on accommodation, compared to 66% last year.
Furthermore, the report finds that 75% of students now spend over €750 per month on accommodation, compared to 66% last year.
The University Observer has calculated that for a student working a part-time weekend job on minimum wage, their monthly earnings average €812. With €750 demanded by rental costs, only €62.80 remains to cover monthly utility, food, leisure, and transport costs. The UCDSU Accommodation Report corroborates these calculations, revealing that 62% of student renters find it ‘somewhat’ to ‘extremely difficult’ to cover rent, and equally 62% of students admit to needing family support to pay these costs.
UCDSU criticised the “two-tier student experience” which exists between students who can live on or near campus, and those who must commute. For students who cannot rely on family support to cover their housing costs, this “two-tier experience” is even more pronounced.
The political consequences of the worsening housing crisis are transparent; 70% of respondents would not vote for government parties who do not support the Students’ Union’s housing demands. Furthermore, Bauer states that 40% of students would back a coordinated rent strike, which she believes “really shows how bad the situation is.” A rent strike is a form of direct action, a method used by Trinity College Dublin to successfully secure a rent freeze on all student accommodation for the 2024/25 academic year.
The UCDSU report calls on the government to abolish the student contribution charge and all other fees, in order to alleviate the double burdens of concurrent cost-of-living and housing crises on students. It further demands an increase in state funding and government intervention in delivering affordable cost-rental accommodation on college campuses, as well as a call for UCD itself to increase the number of purpose-built student accommodation units, and drive down costs.
SU President Bauer said, “It feels like the Union and the students are broken records at this point because we've been asking for ten years for the same things.” She stressed the growing urgency for action, adding that “we keep hearing ‘We can't build things overnight’, but we haven't started asking last night, we started asking literally ten years ago.”
Furthermore, the report reiterates the Union’s calls for protections for students in digs-style accommodation. Over 8% of UCD students currently reside in digs, with many reporting on the poor living conditions, lack of privacy, and unexpected rent increases.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2024, which was signed into law in July, marked small improvements for the Student-Specific-Accommodation (SSA) rental sector. However, these protections do not extend to digs-style accommodation, leaving the sector largely unregulated. Students’ Unions across Ireland have collectively called for more protection for students, and for changes to the ‘Rent a Room’ Relief Scheme Criteria.
The ‘Rent a Room’ Relief Scheme Criteria offers tax free income for anyone renting out a room in their house to private tenants, as long as the total income generated from the room remains under €14,000 per year. This allows landlords to charge up to €1,166 per month for rent and utilities. If the stay is over a 9-month period, they could charge up to €1,555.
To qualify for the scheme, the tenant must be residing there ‘long term’ classed as a stay of 28 or more days in a row. There is an explicit exemption for ‘four-day-a-week digs’, forcing students to move out every weekend, if the landlord so desires.
On August 14, The University Observer interviewed UCDSU President Bauer and Trinity College Dublin Students Union President Jenny Maguire on the second day of their third annual Digs Drive. When asked what the Digs Drive was and what it sought to achieve, Maguire commented, “the Drive is kind of a last-ditch effort to try and get places for students to rest their heads. Digs, of course, is an incredibly flawed system. It leaves students with little protections under law. They could be thrown out at any minute. They have no right to access the RTB, Renters Tenancy Board. And they have no right to privacy. But, ultimately, when it comes from students being homeless or a place to rest their head, we've been left with no other option but to ask the people of Dublin if they can give up a room.”
President Bauer echoed much of Maguire’s sentiments and called on the current Government to take action, “It should be the government actually providing a long-term housing strategy that works for the nation” she said, “because it's been a decade of housing crisis and it's not getting better, it's getting worse.”
The TCDSU President discussed accommodation options across the county, stating “83% of student accommodation is private and 90% of that is over €10,000 for 9 months.”
9-month-long accommodation in UCD currently costs students an average of €9,150, up €1,150 (12.5%) from the 2020/2021 Academic Year.