Mark and a friend, Nicky Lawlor, looked for housing for several weeks before they settled on a small bedsit on South Circular Road.

"We got a place on Monday. It has one bed and one of us sleeps on the floor. We pay £45 a week and there's also a deposit of £200 each that's to be discussed," says Mark, who comes from Templeogue, Co Dublin. Increasing student numbers and the property boom exacerbate the problem. "Landlords are sick of the hassle of renting to students and they're selling houses for a lump sum."