Priced Out: How Ireland’s Housing Crisis Is Failing Students

It’s that time of year again and students are on the hunt for housing. This is undoubtably one of the highest pressures students face outside of sitting their leaving certificate exams. The demand for purpose-built student housing far exceeds supply.  The ratio of student housing to students in the 2022/23 academic year was just 13.6%, or only 34,000 units for 250,000 students. 

Even when you take into account the fact that not all students need student accommodation, there was still a shortfall of 39,000 beds in the main university cities for those who did need them in the 2025/26 academic year. This means many students are faced with having to tackle the private rental market or, for Irish students, live at home and face a long commute.

For those students lucky enough to avail of rental accommodation near their place of study, the cost is another enormous concern.  Purpose built student accommodation ranges from €900 - €1,400 per month which usually includes utilities.  Private rental rates vary considerably depending on type and location, but can range anywhere from €700 - €1,200 per month for a shared room, excluding utilities.

However, higher rates than this have been reported in Dublin.  On top of this, there is normally a deposit required and references or guarantors needed.  Irish students, despite the difficulties in obtaining accommodation, do have it easier than international students.

International study is a booming business for Ireland.  Ireland is becoming one of the world’s most attractive destinations for international students, due to multiple factors, such as being English speaking, having competitive fees, and progressive visa policies to name a few. This provides a huge boost to the Irish economy.  Non-EU students contribute €2.38 billion to the economy through fees and living expenses alone. However, there is a dark side to this is in the overburdened, highly-competitive accommodation sector described above. 

International students face greater obstacles when trying to access accommodation.  The requirement to provide a referee or guarantor is often not possible for foreign students.  This leaves them more vulnerable to exploitation, rental scams and overcrowding. The statistics in respect of what international students face in their attempts to secure accommodation are shocking.

According to the Irish Council for International Students’ 2025 Report (ICOS), 5% of female applicants said they had either received an offer of a room in Ireland in exchange for sex or had seen an advertisement for this. 10% reported having been a victim of an accommodation scam, but only 14% of these had reported it to the authorities.  14% also reported that they had to share not only a bedroom but the actual bed with someone they did not know.  61% of respondents to the survey conducted for this report stated that over 50% of their monthly income went to pay their rent and 20% said that their rent was over 70% of their income. 

This pressure has serious consequences with 41% stating that their academic performance had suffered and, even more worryingly, 54% reported that their mental health had suffered as a result of the housing crisis in Ireland. One Costa Rican English language student who took part in the survey said, “I feel like the government discriminates against us as we can only work part-time and in jobs that the locals would never do. We work hard and try to do everything legally but seem to get the worst treatment.”

The scarcity of housing in Ireland is affecting all segments of society but students are among the hardest hit, and international students even harder still. Despite inspections of private rental housing increasing, ICOS found many reports of breaches of the minimum standards set out in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019, such as no heating or cooking facilities.  

A full 38% of respondents did not even have leases.  This type of exploitation of international students and lack of standards in accommodation risks Ireland’s reputation as a leading destination for international students. Ireland benefits greatly from its students, and especially its international ones, but it is not doing enough to protect them.  Housing is a basic human right that the government is under a duty to ensure is safely available.  However, despite calls by ICOS, Threshold and others to ban the “sex for rent” practice, it is still not a crime in Ireland.

Rental scams make headlines every academic year.  So what should be done?  Beyond legislation against specific exploitation, there needs to be a much greater investment in purpose-built student housing, focusing on increasing the number of affordable beds available ahead of amenities such as gym facilities.  Students also need to be better educated in relation to their rights as tenants.  Lastly, private landlords need to be held accountable for their properties and their rental practices, with breaches being met with repercussions strong enough to deter bad practices. 

Stacey Ebersole is currently a student at the Irish Centre for Human Rights undergoing an LLM Transitional Justice, Human Rights and Conflict.