homes.usi.ie has reach over 100 homes live on the website at once!
In recent days, the Union of Students in Ireland distributed 21,000 flyers advertising the ‘rent-a-room relief’ scheme around university areas. This scheme allows homeowners to benefit from a tax-free €12,000 relief if they take in a lodger.
USI president Kevin Donoghue said within a day, 30 new householders had expressed an interest in the scheme. He said it was often from families whose children had left home and who now had a room free.
“One taxi driver said to me it was ‘empty nest syndrome’. He himself was doing it,” said Mr Donoghue, who also noted that the scheme was a good way of reintegrating students into local communities.
A Daft report published yesterday showed just 4,600 properties were available to rent on August 1, compared to 6,800 on the same day last year and 23,000 properties on the same date six years ago.
Mr Donoghue said the fall in available accommodation was forcing students to commute longer and longer distances and, in some cases, choose their course based on whether they would be able to find and afford accommodation.
He pointed to figures from the Irish League of Credit Unions, which found 62% of students are living at home compared to 44% in 2013.
When that is aligned to figures which show the number of people getting non-adjacent student grants for going to college more than 45km from their home address, it would appear many are choosing to commute long distance but stay at home.
via Irish Examiner [19/08/2015)