Dublin City Council has permitted the use of student accomodation facilities for general rent and holiday-makers, the The Irish Times has reported.
Tourists and short-term renters will be able to avail of short-term renting opportunities in five facilities across the city. Up to 1,600 rooms will be made available, four in North Dublin and one one the southside, all operating under the Uninest brand.
The short-term lets will be available for a maximum two-month renting period. Dublin City Council approved the repurposing up until May 31st, as demand for student accommodation is expected to be reduced for the current academic year due to coronavirus restrictions.
According to the The Irish Times, the Irish Hotels Federation is concerned about the impact repurposing student accommodation will have on hoteliers in Ireland who are already “disproportionately affected” by coronavirus restrictions.
Trinity has seen a significantly reduced demand for campus accommodation this year. Last week, Trinity’s Accommodation office confirmed that residents would receive a refund if they wished to leave and no longer needed to find a replacement resident for their room.
Uninest operates several student accomodation facilities in Dublin, including Kavanagh Court which received major backlash earlier this year. Following erroneous communications from Trinity, students residing in Kavanagh Court were told to leave and received only partial refunds from Uninest despite college’s mishap.
Earlier this year, Uninest announced that international students returning to college from non-greenlist countries would not have to pay for their mandatory quarantine before college started in September.
Students restricting their movements were given free accommodation for the 14-day period, including those at Kavanagh Court. Meanwhile, Trinity announced that early arrivals to campus accommodation would “incur a cost regardless of the reason”.
