USI HAS WARNED that the student housing crisis is set to worsen due to Government inactivity and the failure of housing minister Liz McManus's registration scheme.

USI welfare officer Helen Ryansays the scheme - designed to ensure all landlords in the State are registered with local authorities - has failed to bring the vast majority of landlords into the system and does not address the real problems facing students and other tenants in rented accommodation.

USI estimates that there are approximately 90,000 units in the private rented sector. The most recent statistics from the Department of the Environment indicate 12,711 units have been registered so far about 15 per cent of the estimated total.

New figures are due to be released in March, but early indications are that there has been no significant increase in registrations.

"We definitely think it's a failure," Ryan says. "The number of landlords registered doesn't reflect the reality of the situation."

In the combined local authority areas of Dublin, South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown, 4,379 landlords have registered a total of 9,323 units, according to Department of the Environment figures. In Cork, 614 units have been registered and in Waterford 255 units have been registered.

In Limerick, which has almost 10,000 full time third level students, only 363 units have been registered.

One reason for the low levels of registration is that the Irish Property Owners' Association is challenging the scheme in the courts and landlords are awaiting the result of that, challenge. The case is unlikely to be resolved this year; local authorities do have the option of fining unregistered landlords in the interim.

Unregistered landlords face a fine of £1,000 and further fines of £100, per day if they fail to comply with the demands of the scheme, which requires landlords to pay a £40 registration fee for each rented unit.

USI had long been critical of the registration scheme, arguing that it fails to address the problems of the shortage of rented accommodation and effective monitoring of housing standards in the sector.

In recent years, rented accommodation at affordable rates has become increasingly difficult to find. "The whole student housing crisis is going to begin again and it's going to get worse," Ryan says.

She wants to see tax incentives introduced for landlords and action by the Departments of Education and the Environment in the student housing sector, including the refurbishment of existing buildings for use as student accommodation.

The registration scheme is ineffective without proper inspection and regulation of housing standards, Ryan adds. "We are still tied to a licensing system," she says. "The landlord who has a good house and is paying out £40 is getting nothing for his money. Landlords shouldn't be on the list if they don't have proper standards and someone should come out and inspect them to ensure that they do."