The student housing crisis: are digs the solution?

The campaign involves UCD students going undercover to view potential places and exposing their shoddy conditions using Snapchat. Some of the conditions revealed included kitchen utensils being stored in the bathroom due to lack of space in the kitchen.

In another house, a bed can clearly be seen in the kitchen. Many of these spaces are advertised as single rooms when the reality could meaning sharing with up to 15 other people. Some of the landlords are requesting up to €750 a month with no lease or contract provided to the tenant. In one case, a potential landlord can be heard telling the students to go get a deposit out of a nearby ATM.

The problem is exacerbated when you read a new report from Daft.ie which revealed that rents are now 13% higher than they were at the peak of the Celtic Tiger in 2008. The problem is particularly bad in Dublin where the average monthly cost of renting a house is now €1,741. This is 1.5 times greater than the national average of €1,159. The report also revealed that the cost of a single room to rent in Dublin is €632 which is €200 more than in Cork and €250 more than Galway.

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