All seven of Ireland’s universities will be charging higher rents for college campus accommodation for the coming academic year, with increases ranging from 2.5 per cent to 9.8 per cent .
University College Dublin will increase prices by 7 per cent on average. The college's Belgrove and Merville residences on the Belfield campus in Dublin 4 are both to rise from €6,247 to €6,607 for two semesters. The price of its Blackrock residence will be €5,896, up from €5,746.
The increases are “to fund the continued capital refurbishment and new build programme to provide for further student accommodation on campus, the costs of which were benchmarked against the private sector and other purpose-built student offerings,” said Mary Staunton, a spokeswoman for UCD.
Over the last three years, prices have increased by 37 per cent on average across all five UCD residences.
Trinity College Dublin rents will increase by an average of 6 per cent.
Rubrics, the oldest building in the city centre campus and the cheapest of the college’s campus accommodations, is to rise 3.75 per cent from €4,385 to €4,549. Goldsmith Hall will also increase by 3.75 per cent from €5,245 to €5,442. The more expensive Botany Bay, Front Square and New Square residences will cost Trinity students €6,010 for the academic year, up from €5,245.91. None of these prices includes utility charges.
Average increase
Figures from
Dublin City University
in
Glasnevin
indicate an average increase of 9.8 per cent across the Larkfield, Hampstead and College Park options. At DCU, the annual price for a room within the Larkfield apartments is up 9.5 per cent to €4,572 from €4,172, whereas a single bedroom in the Hampstead apartments will cost €4,860, compared with €4,420 in 2015. A €300 deposit and utilities payment of €450 are also required.
‘Rising costs’
Outside of Dublin,
University College Cork
announced an increase of 2.5 per cent on all of its rates, while
NUI Galway
reported a rise of 3 per cent for students hoping to stay in their on-campus accommodation, Corrib Village.
NUI Maynooth said there would be no change for their twin room en-suite and bunk shared bathroom options, but their single room options would be rising 5 per cent and 16.7 per cent for shared bathroom and en-suite residences respectively, resulting in an average rise of 5.3 per cent.
University of Limerick said the cost of accommodation would increase by 4 per cent. This was due to "rising costs" in maintaining and enhancing the standard of accommodation, spokesman John O'Rourke said.
President of the Union of Students in Ireland Annie Hoey said the annual escalation in university accommodation rates was a worrying trend .
“Spiralling rents are worrying for everyone in the accommodation sector, not just students, but it’s particularly worrying when student accommodation is leading this spiral,” she said. “We’re concerned about the squeeze effect it’s going to have on students and their families. It’s creating a huge pressure.”
