Labour representative Senator Rebecca Moynihan has set out possibilities that could help immediately address the problem, including a State-led approach to affordable housing and a student cost-rental system.
Senator Moynihan said: "Students need affordable and purpose-built housing. Not only for themselves but for the whole market. Due to the pandemic, we have a situation where many landlords that previously offered places to students have now pivoted to using their accommodation for families. This is a larger symptom of the total dearth of supply in the market and an offset of the five wasted years of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil when it comes to building homes for people.
"It's clear that we need to take a State led approach to delivering social and affordable housing and State-led developments of affordable student accommodation must also be a feature of this to take the seasonal pressure off the rental market. The Minister needs to consider a student cost-rental system to provide additional affordable stock though the third level institutions. We need to look at the housing stock and supply in areas of high-student density and identify areas that are under the most pressure like Waterford, Galway and Thurles.
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"We need stronger planning guidelines on student accommodation to stop developers attempting to turn purpose-built student accommodation into apartments for tourists. There are several luxury student accommodation builds across inner city Dublin and we cannot allow developers to convert them into tourist apartments at a whim. Labour's Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 would restrict this practice and put more fairness and certainty into the process. While not a silver bullet, it would ensure that purpose built student accommodation is used for students and students alone. Allowing 'flexibility' in the planning status of a site seriously undermines the original intent and purpose of a planning system to shape communities for the long run.
"Students, like all renters, deserve certainty of tenancy and affordability. We need to cap what can be charged in purpose built student accommodation and stop the practice of annual increases in institutions like Trinity College Dublin and University of Limerick. It's not sustainable. Students should not have to sleep out to show the Government just how dire the situation is. Student accommodation is something that could be and should be planned for."
