Irish Students ‘Sleeping in Cars and Couch-Surfing’ Due to Rental Accommodation Crisis

Student accommodations are a common problem faced by students. Previously, the Typical Student team told you about Housing Crisis at University of California Santa Cruz. Now, news are arriving from Ireland where students are allegedly sleeping in cars and couch-surfing because due to the shortage of rental accommodation. We’ve learned more on the story.

How Many Homeless Students Are There In Ireland?

Source: POLITICO Europe

The Union of Students of Ireland (USI) official, Michelle Byrne, told the Oireachtas Housing Committee that the housing system was “buckling under the pressure in a very real way for students” unable to afford rent payments. In 2016, there were 429 homeless students in Ireland, which accounted for “8% of the total homeless numbers.”

One of the main reasons of housing crisis in Ireland is inaccessibility of purpose-built student accommodation to Irish students. According to Byrne, it’s expensive and mainly targeted at international students. As told by Irish Times, “[Irish] Students are sleeping in cars, staying in libraries and couch surfing. They are commuting hours to get to a lecture, and this is affecting their ability to get a decent education.”

How To Cope With Student Accommodation Shortage In Ireland?

Source: Irish Times

The housing committee is considering to introduce a new Bill protecting the rights of students who are renting. As told by Irish Times, the Bill is going to protect the "students living in student-specific accommodation under license agreements by capping the rent increase at 4% in some areas." Also, the educational department is allegedly scoping out “the legal feasibility” of changing the legislation to protect students living in the purpose-built student accommodations.