Harris and O’Brien announce crackdown on 51-week leases for student housing

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien have announced that Government will support changes in legislation related to student accommodation.

Under the new legislation, student-specific accommodation leases will be confined to the academic year.

In recent weeks, some student-specific accommodation providers have come under fire for forcing students to switch from the standard leases that cover the academic year to 51-week leases.

Government will address the issue with the Residential Tenancies Act before the Dáil’s summer recess to ensure the new tenancy protections are in place before the new academic year.

Fine Gael leader and presumptive Taoiseach Simon Harris said “I have been working closely with the Minister for Housing in recent weeks to find a concrete way to better protect student-specific accommodation leases, and I am delighted that Government is supportive of making legislative changes in this area.”

“While a 51-week lease may suit some third-level students, it is not desirable nor affordable for the majority of students, and that is why we are proposing legislative changes to better protect students.”

“The legislative changes will ensure a student-specific accommodation lease only covers the standard academic year when it is needed.

Harris said this situation is a reminder that Ireland should be less reliant on the private rental market to house students and for Government to build more college-owned student-specific accommodation.

“We are already working with a number of universities to activate student-specific accommodation projects, and we also invited all universities to work with the Higher Education Authority to develop proposals for the development of more college-owned student-specific accommodation.”

O’Brien said “I’m pleased that the Government has supported the bringing forward of necessary legislative changes to better protect students residing in student-specific accommodation. Students nor their parents should be expected to pay for accommodation outside of academic term.”

“Government is committed to making college life as affordable as possible and my Department will assist in any way it can to protect student renters and help them access the third-level course of their choice.”