Every year, a small number of unscrupulous people seek to prey on students seeking accommodation with frauds and scams intended to trick you out of your money in return for nothing.
When looking to lease directly from a property owner, you should always personally inspect the property, seek assurances about the ownership of the property and never agree to transfer money in advance for the purposes of securing accommodation. Be certain that the person showing you the property is the owner or authorised by the owner to show you the property.
We recommend that in other cases, all students use only Property Service Providers holding a PSRA Licence to secure their accommodation.
All Property Service Providers (Letting Agents, Auctioneers, Estate Agents and Management Agents) operating in the Republic of Ireland must hold a PSRA licence to provide a property service, and all students seeking to rent accommodation should ask to see the property service provider’s licence and note the licence number. This number can then be checked on the Register of Licensed Property Services Providers to ensure that the licence is not only valid and in date, but that the provider’s details match those on the Register. The Register can be found on the PSRA’s website, www.psr.ie.