LAST UPDATE | 6 Feb

THE RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES Board (RTB) has ruled that Trinity College Dublin’s overnight guest policy for campus and Trinity Hall residents is “unenforceable”.

Trinity’s overnight guest policy had banned guests after 11pm at Halls and after midnight on campus without prior approval.

This approval was to be sought at least five days prior to the guest’s arrival.

The former president of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), László Molnárfi, lodged the complaint with the RTB, which operates a dispute resolution service and regulates the residential rental sector.

The complaint was supported by the Threshold and submitted on behalf of the TCD Renters’ Solidarity Network in February 2024, and was appealed by Trinity.

In a statement this evening, Trinity said that while students still have to register overnight guests, they may now do this online at any time of the day or night.

This abolishes the previous cut-off times of 11pm at Halls and of midnight on campus.

Molnárfi described this as a “victory for student housing rights and a testament of grassroots power”.

‘Breach of privacy’

The RTB ruled that the overnight policy is an “unenforceable condition in the licence agreement”.

The RTB stated that the policy is an “unreasonable restriction” and that “the test for reasonableness is no different because the respondent landlord is an education provider”.

It added that the need to “disclose the identity of an invitee who might stay overnight with a tenant at short notice is a breach of privacy”.

The RTB’s decision follows a 2019 amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act, which extended its application to licences and licence agreements to student specific accommodation (SSA).

This brought Higher Educational Institutions who provide SSA during the academic year, and purpose-built SSA provided by the private sector, under the remit of the RTB.

Meanwhile, it is understood that there is concern over disruptive or noisy guests entering the campus and halls while others are trying to sleep.

However, the RTB said that the “remedy available for managing disorderly behaviour lies in the anti-social behaviour provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act”.

‘Landmark case’

Speaking to The Journal, Molnárfi, who lodged the complaint, said the policy had “stripped students of autonomy, dignity and privacy”.

“Students, some of whom are paying more than €1,000 a month for the right to reside on campus, are not able to bring in overnight guests after 11pm at halls or midnight on campus,” said Molnárfi.

“I think we can all agree that that’s quite outrageous, that we’re not being treated like adults.

“It is a hypocritical, paternalistic and dangerous policy which is imposed on student tenants at Halls and campus.”

Meanwhile, Molnárfi described it as a “landmark case” because it is the first time that the peaceful and exclusive occupation clause has been applied to a student licence agreement.

The RTB determined that Trinity failed to allow students “to enjoy peaceful occupation of the dwelling”.

Molnárfi said Trinity’s student union is currently working with Trinity to “create a new policy that will abolish the overnight guest policy”.

He told The Journal that a new policy should enable students to “sign-in guests electronically at any time during the day or night”.

Molnárfi added that other students now “stand a much better chance of bringing their own student accommodation providers, whether public or private, to the RTB for a variety of issues”.

“We would indeed encourage students to stand up to their landlords and to exercise this right,” said Molnárfi, “and we would recommend students talk to their students’ unions and tenancy advocacy organisations such as Threshold.

“Threshold worked with us on this case, and I’d like to publicly thank them for their help, because without them, we wouldn’t have succeeded.”

‘Out of touch’

Meanwhile, Trinity’s students’ union has “implored Trinity to end this policy, and give students the basic dignity of allowing guests in their accommodation overnight”.

It is understood however that Trinity, following the ruling, still has the entitlement to impose conditions on entry of guests and that it can enforce designated cut-off times for entry.

The students’ union, who are said to be “engaging very sensibly” with Trinity, added the ruling “speaks to just how out of touch the college has been in so many areas of what it means to be a student”.

“Students should be able to bring guests home in accommodation they are paying extortionate prices for, and students need to be treated like the adults that they are.”

In a statement to The Journal, Trinity said it “welcomes the clarity brought by the recent determination”.

“In advance of the publication of this determination, the Accommodation Office worked closely with the Students Union to agree a new policy which is going through the University’s approval process.”