Report: We pay far more than national avg for a room; SU calls for protection of students in digs

Tuesday 23 May 2023, Dublin

• Students say "clock is ticking" for Government to act before new term starts

• Acute shortage of student beds leading to neglect of studies, particularly during the first few weeks of term

• Digs arrangements require immediate regulation to protect students

UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) has today launched a report revealing the impact of the acute shortage in beds for students who are enrolled in the Dublin university and other colleges across the country.

Affordability and availability

Around ⅔ of respondents not living at home are paying in-excess of €750 per month, much higher than the national student average of €469 (according to a recent HEA report). 53% of respondents have difficulties meeting their monthly housing-related costs, with 18% describing it as ‘extremely difficult’. 26% of respondents found the process of finding accommodation ‘somewhat difficult’ while 45% found it to be ‘very difficult’.

The report, based on two years of surveying UCD students, outlines the damage that the State’s failure to respond to the housing crisis is having on the pursuit of education, student mental health and the overall student experience. The acute shortage of beds is starting to have a seriously worrying impact on the pursuit of education, particularly during the first few weeks of the academic year. It also sheds light on the emergence of a “two-tier student experience” in which college life outside of the classroom is beyond the reach of a growing number of students.

Digs-style arrangements

Following calls last August from homeowners to open their homes to support those in education, whether students had a positive experience that facilitated their pursuit of education was too much down to the “luck of the draw”. The report calls for immediate regulation so that students can secure an agreement with homeowners “that provides a level of dignity and security”, highlighting that money claimed under the Rent a Room Relief Scheme comes at a cost to the exchequer. A drop of around 7.5% in UCD students living in the private rental sector was reported alongside a similar-sized growth in students living in digs in 2022.

Speaking on the launch of the report, UCDSU President Molly Greenough said:

“Our report, based on two years of outreach and meetings with UCD students of all backgrounds, not only identifies the growing number of challenges students face in securing accommodation that supports their college journey, but also offers solutions for students and their families that can have an immediate impact ahead of the new academic year. The clock is ticking though and we’d like to see the Government act before the Dáil recess on July 13. We are determined to work with both the University and policymakers to protect student renters and to protect higher education. I share the frustration and concerns of consecutive years of students grappling with the challenges of finding safe and affordable accommodation. As students we will need to redouble our efforts to get the political will for student-friendly policies that have been sorely lacking for so long “

UCDSU Welfare Officer Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich added:

“We wanted to shed a light on students dealing with precarious situations in digs, afraid to tell their parents because they don't want to worry them. I have had so many students ask me about dropping out because they can't find somewhere to stay. It's unacceptable that in one of the richest countries in the world we have students in A&E with exhaustion because of the pressure on them to finance their studies and pay their rent.“

UCDSU surveyed 1,553 UCD students between last November and December on a range of issues relating to their accommodation and how it supports or hinders their studies. This follows a similar survey launched 12 months prior, which garnered 963 responses.

Concluding that there will be no meaningful improvement to the availability of student beds in the short-term, the report calls on the Government to address other pressing economic factors for students, namely the complete abolition of tuition fees and further reform of SUSI grant eligibility.

In changing the student accommodation landscape for the students of tomorrow, the report calls for “bespoke measures for students that are based on genuine student affordability”. Finally, the report also calls on UCD to help support its students amid a cost-of-living crisis by committing to a phased cut in rental prices.

ENDS

Notes

This report has been written based on the responses to two surveys that UCDSU carried out on student housing and is part of our ongoing efforts to advocate for fairer, more affordable and higher quality accommodation for our members.

UCDSU Accommodation Survey 2022 Results

(full dataset available upon request)

• 1,553 UCD students responded to the survey carried out between November and December 2022.

• Around 2/3 of respondents who do not live at home or own their own home are paying upwards of €750 per month for their accommodation. These made up 998 of the overall respondents, This figure is slightly up from 63% in December 2021 (from 823 respondents).

• 53% of respondents who do not live at home or own their own home experience some difficulty paying for their accommodation monthly, with 18% describing it as ‘extremely difficult.’ 65% of these respondents rely upon some form of family support to pay for their accommodation during the academic year. 10% of them admitted to taking out a private loan in order to cover the costs.

• Of these respondents who do not live at home or own their own home, 18% do not have some form of written agreement which details the terms and conditions (be that a lease or otherwise).

• 26% of respondents found the process of finding accommodation ‘somewhat difficult’ while 45% found it to be ‘very difficult’. 17.5% agreed it was ‘somewhat straightforward’ and 11% said it was ‘easy’.

• 1,137 respondents do not live in on-campus accommodation. From this cohort, 26% spend between 1 and 2 hours commuting to and from UCD. 12% spend between 2-3 hours per day and almost 7% spend between 3-4 hours. 4% of respondents spend over four hours travelling each way.

• Our data suggests that the impact on both education and the student experience is worsening, with the combined ‘Strongly Agree’ and ‘Agree’ responses increasing from 40% to 47% and 47% to 50% respectively between December 2021 and December 2022.

• 45% say that finding accommodation or their current accommodation has had a negative impact on their mental health. This is down from 57% in December 2021.