With rental accommodation at an all-time low for this time of year and the scramble well underway for student digs around the country, more and more people are being encouraged to consider renting out their spare rooms.
With rising rent and a growing population, it is harder than ever for students to find places to stay close to colleges and universities around the country, particularly those in the major urban areas such as Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.
In order to help combat this, the students’ union at both UCD and Trinity College dublin started a campaign recently to highlight the fact that homeowners can rent out a room in their house and earn up to €12,000 a year tax free.
Kieran McNulty, president of Trinity College Students’ Union, says it can be a positive experience for both landlord and tenant.
"Accommodation is quite restricted in Dublin, there's a lot of scrambling for beds, and it's really just about saying: 'Look, if you have a spare room, there's students here who would be more than happy to take them', and we've seen really positive experiences in the past," he said.
Earlier this week UCD announced plans for a €300m student accommodation expansion that would add 3,000 more beds to the Belfield campus.
It’s likely a route that many colleges and universities will have to take as the issue of accommodation worsens year on year.
For now though private individuals may have to ease the burden.
Let us know your thoughts on the matter.
- Did you know the tax free sum you could earn from renting to a student?
- Have you rented out a room in your home before?
- Would you consider trialling it for an academic year?
Have your say below…
If you’d like to place a room to rent on MyHome.ie you can do so at www.myhome.ie/advertise-with-us
