COLLEGES ACROSS THE country have increased prices for their on-campus accommodation for the coming academic year.

This increase, coupled with the current housing crisis, means that finding affordable housing has become much more difficult.

A survey conducted by the Irish Independent showed that prices had risen up to €760.

Figures from Daft.ie’s report just days ago showed an average increase of 3.9% in rent prices in the past three months, with the biggest rise in rent occuring in Cork city centre, Galway, and Dublin – the cities with the largest universities.

University College Cork

The cost of staying in UCC’s University Hall for this academic year, or 37 weeks, will cost €4,810, or €130 a week. Across all four accommodation locations offered by UCC, the rise totals to around 2.5% when compared to last year’s rates.

When asked what caused the hike in on-campus accommodation, a spokesperson told TheJournal.ie:

University College Cork has an ongoing refurbishment programme for campus accommodation.

Cork also had the highest rise in rent prices in the months between April and June of this year, meaning that students looking for accommodation in Cork city are faced with a difficult task and higher rent prices than last year.

Rent-a-room appeal

In the wake of the rising cost of renting, the Students’ Union at National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) today appealed to homeowners with a spare room to consider renting it to students who will be beginning their courses this September.

NUIG Students’ Union President Jimmy McGovern said that the lack of accommodation was a serious issue, and it was ”putting access to education at risk for many students”.

He added:

We are inundated with queries from students looking for accommodation. In particular there is a huge amount of visiting students that will just be attending NUI Galway for one semester, September to December or January to May, who are desperately in need of accommodation.

“We would encourage anyone with a spare room to strongly consider renting to a student as soon as possible.”

The rent-a-room scheme offers relief to homeowners who rent out their spare room in an attempt to relieve the current housing crisis.

Read: People asked to rent spare rooms to students as accommodation crisis continues

Read: UCD is planning to spend €300 million building 3,000 more student residences