Sinn Féin will bring a private members bill to the Dáil tonight that aims to offer better protection to students living in rented accommodation.
The bill, brought by Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin, will seek to amend the Residential Tenancies Act by giving students living in student accommodation access to the Residential Tenancies Board and inclusion in rent pressure zones.
Political will has galvanised around the issue of student accommodation in recent months, after students in Dublin City University (DCU), followed by students in NUI Galway, staged high-profile protests in response to rent hikes by private housing companies.
The President of DCU, Brian MacCraith, called for better regulation of the student accommodation sector.
RTÉ has reported that that government will not oppose the bill, despite concerns in the Department of Housing that the bill contains no legal definition of student accommodation.
Ó’Broin will gather outside the Dáil with students ahead of the debate this evening. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme this morning, O’Broin said it wasn’t acceptable that students often face huge increases in rent.
In a press statement ahead of the debate, Union of Students in Ireland (USI) President Michael Kerrigan said: “Legislation like this would mean that student accommodation providers would have to adhere to the rent pressure zone legislation. It’s time we stopped treating students like cash cows.”
He said that he hoped the bill could be put into legislation so it can become law before the the Oireachtas breaks for summer.
The government has increasingly spoken about the need to increase the number of beds available to students, publishing a National Student Accommodation Strategy last summer and encouraging homeowners to rent out rooms to students.
However, as private student accommodation companies flood the market, many students have complained that there is a lack of affordable accommodation. Trinity is currently building a 250-bed accommodation complex at the Oisín House site.
