Warning of a crisis in student accommodation

`It looks like we're heading into an accommodation crisis this autumn, the likes of which we've really never seen before," is the somewhat less than cheerful news from Cian O'Callaghan, welfare officer with USI. But the message from student union officers around the State is, don't despair. Most important, don't panic and take the first squalid little dive you see. And no matter how manic the situation seems, never hand over a penny until you have read and understood the lease, and are absolutely satisfied you've found the place in which you are going to live for the foreseeable future.

Before rushing out with your flat list in one hand and a call card in the other, take time to think through what exactly you can afford and what are the most basic living conditions you can tolerate. For safety reasons, as well as the importance of getting a second opinion, don't go flat-hunting alone. Most landlords will look for a deposit of a month's rent and between two and four weeks' rent in advance. Some will even demand an ESB deposit of £60 or more. However, it's not a great idea to carry huge sums of money around with you.

`Dublin, as always, is the most difficult place for students to find accommodation, with Cork and Galway not far behind. But if you start looking as soon as you can, you will find somewhere decent. "Your starting point should be your college accommodation officer," advises O'Callaghan. "He or she will have good knowledge of availability locally, and be able to give you quite a bit of guidance. If you've any contacts at all in the area you're moving to, relatives or friends, get in touch because often people become aware of places by word of mouth."

As for on-campus accommodation, interested students should have already had their names on a college list. At any rate these rooms are not usually available to first-year students (Next week's edition will cover this area in greater detail).

A lot of student unions publish lists of places of accommodation these days, some of them even vet landlords and refuse to include any with racist, or otherwise unacceptable, attitudes. Most colleges issue first-time students with guidelines on accommodation.

Threshold, the housing advice centre, publishes two extremely useful leaflets - Renting for the First Time and Renting a Home From a Private Landlord. Between them, the two leaflets cover everything from where to find a flat to tenants' rights.

Louise Mullen is services co-ordinator with the Dublin branch of Threshold. "Prepare yourself as best you can," she says. "If you've never rented before, try to look at a few places to get a feel for it all. If you're looking at flats in August, anticipate the winter months. Will it be warm enough? If there is central heating. Who controls it? If it is the landlord, how much of the day is it switched on for, and is the price included in the rent? If it is dark now, what will it be like in December? Investigate any musty smell and if there is any sign of dampness, don't take the flat. Check that every single appliance is working. Unless you are happy, don't put down a single penny. You don't have a right to get your deposit back, so, if you can, bring along either a parent or someone who has experience of renting when you go looking."

Having found a place you're happy with, have a good read of the lease. It may seem like a drag (it is) but you need to know what sort of terms you are agreeing to, or you may find yourself in a very messy situation at a really bad time, like the start of the exams. "Despite warnings all round, students still seem to be as inexperienced as ever," says Mullen. "We would urge them to read the lease. If it is a oneyear lease and you know you will only be staying nine months, you will lose any deposit you put down if you leave before the year is up, for example".

Margaret O'Neill of the Threshold office in Cork has already had enquiries from students going to college this autumn. "We tend to get queries from parents coming up for an afternoon to help their offspring find accommodation," she says. "But we would say you really have to take a few days. It can be hard to find a suitable place in Cork, but don't rush in and take the first thing you see. We have had cases of landlords looking for the first few months' rent in advance and saying, `I'll see you in January'.

"It's not always easy to find places here and you do come across horror stories of poor accommodation, but you have to be vigilant and don't accept anything which is of a poor standard."

At the Galway offices, Threshold advises students to bring a mobile phone. "Whatever about accommodation, we have a terrible shortage of pay phones," says Deirdre Murphy. "It can be hard to get places here alright, and prices are almost comparable to Dublin, so get hunting as soon as you can. Unlike other cities, the paper with the flat listings only comes out once a week so every Wednesday at this time of the year when the Galway Advertiser comes out, there are long queues at the pay phones. We do hear rumours of poor accommodation, but in recent years we have found that students are becoming more confident and tending to articulate their concerns to landlords. The college accommodation officers are good and they help students get settled as best they can."

`The most recent figures from Threshold show the average rent in Dublin is £62 week for a one bedroom flat. Most students share and according to USI, this brings the rent down to an average of £50 a week. Given the difficulties associated with renting private accommodation, more students are opting for digs, which includes meals in the accommodation price, according to USI. "On average, students can expect to pay between £55 and £60 for five days and £65 to £70 for seven days in Dublin," says Cian O'Callaghan. Prices are generally a bit lower in other parts of the country, he adds.

Some colleges actually insist first-year students take this option. But USI advises students that they should be sure they know exactly what the terms of agreement are. "There is no legal obligation to sign a lease if you offer digs to students, and we come across cases where students are being evicted overnight, frequently because they were never clear as to what was expected of them in the first place," warns O'Callaghan.