Dublin City Councillor Paul McAuliffe has called on Minister Eoghan Murphy to bring all student accommodation in under the Government’s Rent Pressure Zone regulations and for the Residential Tenancies Board to extend its protections to all student renters.

Cllr. McAuliffe was commenting after attending a protest organised by DCU Students’ Union in Shanowen Hall, Santry where students are set to see their rents rocket by 23%. Students living in one room units with shared living spaces will now be forced to fork out €9000 for a nine month period.

“At present, these student accommodation units are exempt from RPZ regulations and are beyond the scope of the RTB as they are deemed to be ‘under license’ rather than leased to the renter,” said the Fianna Fáil General Election candidate," says Councillor Paul McAuliffe.
“Dublin’s rental market is overheating right now. It’s only going to get worse if the large volume of new student accommodation that has come on stream in the past two years is allowed to be exempt from rent controls.
“Despite Fine Gael being dragged kicking and screaming to this point, rent controls have had a limiting influence.

“However, to leave dedicated student accommodation outside these rent controls is crazy."

Rent increases of the level being proposed, in excess of 20%, at Shanowen "will only exacerbate rent challenges in the greater DCU area", says Dublin City Councillor Paul McAuliffe.

"It will apply upward pressure on all rented accommodation leaving student and non-student renter in even more financial trouble.

“There is a straightforward solution to this. Minister Murphy must amend the legislation to ensure that student accommodation that is deemed to be ‘under license’ to a tenant is treated in the same way as normal leases and tenancies,” concluded McAuliffe.