KERRY: Students have been left without accommodation as landlords switch to long-term rentals as part of the Housing for All scheme. Many students have lost their accommodation as a result of this, particularly in County Kerry.
The Kerry Lee Student Village was a long-standing complex in Tralee for students at Munster Technological University. The owners of the 54-bed housing development decided to take back their houses for long-term renting, leaving these students without accommodation.
Student organizations have come forward with the demand to amend the law in this regard to solve this problem. The president of the Union of Students in Ireland, Beth O’Reilly, has called on the Government to step in.
O’Reilly demanded that the government should update the accommodation strategy of the students based on the recent situation. She emphasises that landlords are solely concerned about profit.
“Students pay a deposit and think their accommodation is secure – then it is gone, it has been turned into long-term rentals.” Such actions were creating “a huge crisis,” she said.
However, Minister of State Niall Collins said introducing the legislation would be difficult. In September last year, the Housing Minister sent a memorandum to the local authorities to provide for future student accommodation so that no change of use could be made, he said.