Independence days, or home from home

FOR ALMOST anyone moving can be an upsetting business. And the move from the family home to the relative independence of student accommodation is one of the most significant and potentially traumatic aspects of entering third-level education.

Horror stories are rife. Last year two officers of a large students' union, who should probably have known better, spent much of their time in office living above a Dublin greasy spoon diner, sharing a flat with spiders, damp and an unseemly number of large rats. The final straw came when one of them returned home to find himself being watched from the stairs by a huge, grey rodent, which he promptly beat to death with his shoe.

First years in particular can find the task of securing accommodation especially daunting. The independence of a flat or bedsit can seem tempting initially but may be unsuitable for some younger students, who should remember the old Gary Larson cartoon about the unhappy flat dweller being deserted by the bluebird of happiness and finding in its place the chicken of loneliness. The transition can be made easier by spending the first term, or even the first year, in digs or in college accommodation.

In recent years newspaper headlines have tended to harp on the "crisis in student accommodation", with tales of students left to wander the streets of major cities like refugees from a particularly nasty natural disaster. "In Dublin there is a lack of affordable accommodation but when you go down to Cork there is a lack of accommodation, full stop," says Helen Ryan, welfare officer of the Union of Students' in Ireland. "It will get to the stage where people will pay for anything, and that's very worrying."

While student numbers continue to increase in Dublin city, the supply of available accommodation appears to be falling. At least 2,000 units in the Rathmines/Dublin 6 area have returned to private use in the last 12 months. In addition, the new Housing (Registration of Rented Homes) Act 1996, which came into effect in May, and which requires landlords to register rented accommodation at a cost of £40 per unit, has proved extremely unpopular with suppliers of accommodation.

Many landlords are simply not registering, while those who do are likely to increase rents or deposits to cover the additional cost. USI have been critical of the new act and would prefer to see a form of licensing to ensure accommodation reaches acceptable standards.

According to the Irish Property Owners Association, IPOA, the repercussions of the new act are likely to speed up the process of "gentrification", with more and more rented accommodation being returned to private ownership. The IPOA believes that it is the supply of bed sits and small flats, the type of accommodation most favoured by students, which is most likely to decrease as a result.

The supply of accommodation in other areas of the country is also likely to suffer. Having said all that, those who prepare themselves well and approach flat-hunting in an organised manner should avoid the worst pitfalls. USI advises students to begin searching for accommodation at well before the start of term and to consider taking digs if they can't find suitable accommodation immediately.

Students' unions in colleges and, in many cases, the colleges themselves, hold lists of available accommodation which students can consult. College noticeboards will also begin sprouting details of available accommodation, frequently house-sharing. Local and evening newspapers are also prime sources of housing. Buy the evening newspaper when it comes out at 12 noon and have a phone card ready. Don't house-hunt alone - always bring someone with you for advice, opinions and safety.

Landlords usually demand one month's rent in advance as a deposit, in addition to an ESB deposit of £60 or more. In Dublin, therefore, students should be prepared to spend up to £250 in order to secure accommodation and you should have this money ready or obtainable within minutes from a bank machine or post office. Students elsewhere in the country will probably have to pay less but the same principle applies.

Beware of accommodation agencies. Like young love, they promise a lot, actually give very little and cost a lot more. Most charge high registration fees, have little legal standing and, in some cases, have been heavily criticised by housing agencies for providing housing lists which are out of date or little better than works of fiction. In 1994, one agency operated a nasty con on students by taking their deposits and registration money and sending them to houses which were already let or not even on the market. The owner then promptly disappeared. If any agency tries to charge you more than £5 to register, then leave. Better still, consult your students' union or college accommodation centre before approaching any private letting agency.

As a tenant, you have a number of legal rights of which you should be aware. The Charter for Rented Housing, available from the Department of the Environment, is a good guide to your entitlements and obligations. You must have a rent book in which all transactions with the landlord are recorded. If your landlord does not give you one, they are available from local students' unions, most stationers or Threshold, the housing advice bureau.

If any repairs or alterations need to be carried out, ensure your landlord makes them before you move in. Read any lease carefully before signing it, or go over it first with your students' union or college accommodation office. Finally, notice to quit requires four weeks written notice from either your landlord or yourself.

College accommodation is a very different matter, since it is not usually covered by tenants' agreements. Instead, students are presented with a set of inflexible rules and any infringements are dealt with by fines or removal from the accommodation in question at very short notice. Familiarise yourself with these rules, unless you want to find yourself and all your worldly goods being rained on following an unceremonious eviction.

Digs, too, are outside the scope of housing legislation, so students entering digs should, consider drawing up some form of agreement covering meals, notice to quit and guests.

DUBLIN REGION

Price estimates in the Dublin city area are very rough, but expect to pay £50-£60 for five days digs and £60-£70 for seven days. It is possible to get cheaper digs, but these are usually further from the city centre and students may end up spending the difference on DART or bus fares. For flats with reasonable facilities expect to pay £35-£45 per person sharing. A small bedsit will cost around £30, and by small they mean small. Any attempts to swing a cat in a £30 bedsit will have the animal rights people pursuing you through the courts. A decent bedsit will set you back £40 per week.

According to Alan Mac Simoin, TCD students' union's accommodation officer, the best value lies in renting a three or four bedroomed house between a number of people. This should average out at around £35 per person per week, with good facilities.

Most won't begin to advertise around until the end of this month so those intending to start flat-hunting early will be relying on the evening papers. Up to the beginning of the third week in September people should be able to be reasonably picky. "From then on it's getting a bit more difficult," says Mac Simoin. "While there won't be anybody homeless or living 20 miles away, the amount of choice diminishes by the day after that."

If you do have problems finding a suitable place to rent, don't be afraid to avail of digs. There is usually a good supply of digs available through college and students' union accommodation offices and it is likely to prove better value and more comfortable than sharing a hostel dormitory.

Trinity College, Dublin: TCD does not offer on-campus accommodation to first years but accommodation is available in Trinity Hall Dartry Road, near Ranelagh in south Dublin and a number of beds are kept for "freshers", as first years are universally termed. A single room costs £656 for the period Oct-Jan and £651 for Feb-end of May. A twin room costs £492 for October to January, and £488 for February to the end of May.

All students who are entitled to a place and who live away from the city automatically receive accommodation details from the college and an application form for rooms, which should be returned as soon as possible. The students' union also operates a comprehensive accommodation advice service, including lists of digs.

University College, Dublin: UCD reserves a number of places for first year students in its on-campus accommodation at Belfield (91 269 32444). Accommodation is mainly in three to four bedroom self-catering apartments and costs range from £1,122 to £1,590 per person for the academic year, depending on room size. Places are allocated on a lottery basis, and the accommodation office will accept applications from students who have received CAO offers during the week of Monday August 26th to Friday August 30th. Applicants will receive notification the following week. The application must include the name and address of the applicant, the applicant's CAO number, a passport photograph and a deposit of £150 (cheque or postal order), refundable in the event of the application being unsuccessful.

Applications should be sent to Student Residences/ Accommodation, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

Both the students' union and the accommodation office keep lists of lodgings and information on flats, houses and self-catering accommodation is available on the noticeboard in the lobby of Roebuck Hall or from the students' union.

Dublin City University: As is usual by now, all of DCU's on-campus accommodation has already been pre-booked and there is a sizeable waiting list. An additional 300 rooms will be available from autumn 1997, more than doubling the college's current capacity. The college's accommodation office has an off-campus housing list, up-dated daily, available to all students.

Maynooth College, Co Kildare: The rates for all accommodation for students in Maynooth is standardised by the college's accommodation office (01 708 3826) and its long-serving accommodation officer, Marie T Kelly.

Accommodation in Maynooth's on-campus apartments costs £38 per week, to be paid in two equal instalments of £684 with a £200 deposit. Accommodation available is also available in the Auxilia Girls' Hostel and costs £70 per week, including breakfast and evening meal, payable in two instalments of £1 050 with a £100 deposit.

Off-campus digs will cost £50 for five days and £65 for seven days, while self-catering with a family will cost £26 for a single room or £23 sharing. This year the accommodation office will be distributing a hit to all first years, enabling them to find their own accommodation.

Tallaght RTC: The student services office holds a list of lodgings for registered students.

DIT: The DIT's student services office compiles a single list of accommodation options which is distributed to the individual colleges and is available from student services or the students' union. The DIT carries out spot checks on the accommodation offered to ensure that it is up to standard.

NCAD: The NCAD students' union provides a regularly updated list of accommodation for incoming students.

LIMERICK

University of Limerick: UL will have 940 rooms on-campus this year, thanks to the addition of over 200 extra rooms at Kilmurry Village. Including service charges, ESB and booking deposit, a private bedroom in an eight bedroom house costs £1,410 in Plassey Village and £1,506 in Kilmurry Vil-