House of pain

We only lasted a month in the place. There was something wrong with the drains and sewers and the smell was just unreal. It got to the point that just being in the house made you want to throw up. We tried to get the landlord to sort it but he just kept putting it off.”
So says Cormac Fahey, a recent graduate from NUI Galway, who had to endure an all-too-familiar student scenario when he was sharing a house in the City of the Tribes a few years ago. Unfortunately for Cormac, and for all of you out there in the process of planning for the college year ahead, his bad landlord experience isn’t unusual. In fact, there’s a lot of them out there!
Roisin McGrogan, the Student Welfare Officer at NUI Galway, believes that part of the problem is that students are in such a rush to find a place to live. Under the pressure of needing desperately to establish a base, they don’t pay attention to the small print. It makes them ripe for exploitation.
“People can jump in too soon and find themselves in overpriced, substandard accomodation,” she says. “Then, at the end of the year, many students are hit with big and unjust deposit deductions – but because they didn’t get around to taking note of the condition of the house at the beginning, or didn’t know that they are entitled to get receipts, their money is pocketed by dishonest landlords.”
What sort of accommodation problems do students come to her with? “Well, being in Galway, damp is a huge problem. You find that loads of student houses have mould growing on the wall. Security is another thing. A lot of students are victims of burglary as well, so keeping your home safe would be a big concern for us.”
Safety is also a big issue for Colin Caughey, the Student Welfare Officer at Queens University in Belfast. “Landlords are making a lot of money off students,” he says. “They need to accept some responsibilities and keep an eye on things, making sure the students have accommodation that is decent and habitable. There are some houses around Belfast, and around the rest of the country I’m sure, that you wouldn’t put your dog into. That isn’t right.”
Are there other serious problems he has encountered?
“Overcrowding is a big thing. A landlord’s main aim is to make money and there’s a lot of them out there, if they can fit five people into a house that’s meant for four, then they won’t lose a might’s sleep over it. Here at Queens we are always strongly behind students that experience problems with their landlords.”
However, Caughey is keen to point out that not all landlords are scheming charlatans. What’s more, students should realise that it’s a two-way relationship.
“There are some great landlords that are offering good places, in good condition, and who even provide students with information about their rights. And then there’s others that are just in it for making money."
The thing is, if students treat the places they stay in well, then the quality of what’s available is bound to improve.
“Students also have a responsibility towards their landlords,” Caughey says, “because if you’re staying in someone’s house – whether you’re paying for it or not – then you should respect their property.”