Mattie wants better protections regarding student accommodation

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has called on the Minister for Education and Minister for Housing to ensure that greater legislative protections are introduced for students using student accommodation as many are facing demands for large deposits and rents upfront despite not having clarity from colleges on whether students will be required to attend physical classes this September.

 

Deputy McGrath explained that he has been contacted by a large number of students and their parents who are concerned about the demands for rents up front despite clarity from the colleges.

 

“We now have a situation where it is still unclear whether students will be required to attend physical classes for the coming term as many colleges are looking at online classes and so on and yet students are being put under pressure to pay deposits and a number of months rent up front despite the situation being unclear” explained Deputy McGrath

 

“Accommodation providers are saying pay up now or lose your spot and with the previous demands on student accommodation, students feel they have no choice.

 

"So many students got badly stung last term as they had paid months of rent up front which was vacated early as a result of the Coronavirus and yet their accommodation providers refused to offer them refunds.  Students do not want to make the same mistake again and lose out twice. They are afraid to pay up front and lose the money but they are being put in an impossible position with absolutely no protections” continued Deputy McGrath

 

The Tipperary TD explained that students require legislative protections to ensure that any rents paid up front will be refunded in the event that the accommodation is not required.

 

“Thankfully the majority of universities offered refunds for their university owned accommodation and some good honest private landlords offered refunds but so many in private accommodation were left with no refunds despite having paid thousands up front.

 

It is simply not good enough that the Government is willing to stand by and allow hard pressed students and their families to face these huge losses again. They need clarity and they need it urgently. I am calling on the Ministers involved to work together to introduce emergency protections for students to ensure that unscrupulous landlords or accommodation providers can’t pocket this money if students can’t attend college this term,” concluded Deputy McGrath