Trinity asks Dublin alumni to rent spare rooms to students

The new appeal has been launched in the hopes that it will ease the student accommodation crisis that the city has been experiencing for the past number of years.

Those who are interested in renting their spare rooms can "earn up to €12,000 in tax free income" according to TCDSU.

Welfare Officer Conor Clancy said the SU are hoping the appeal will provide more rooms for Trinity students this September.

Campaign

"The idea is following on from a campaign for digs-style accommodation which has been running over the last number of years," he told the Herald.

"We've had a good bit of success with that in getting a few beds for students, particularly around the beginning of term time.

"It's extending the range of that campaign to include alumni as well.

"We're trying to diversify in that sector, we're just trying to get as many students in beds as we can.

"It's been an issue over the past couple of years and with rent increases again this year, it's only going to get worse," he added.

Conor said students can expect to pay between €80 and €120 per week for digs-style accommodation, but the price may be increased by €20 if meals are included.

The appeal comes as it was revealed last month that Trinity would be increasing the cost of their campus accommodation by 3.5pc, following a rise of 4pc last year.

"This rise should be considered in the context of an increase generally in private rental costs in Dublin, which some experts have put at over 11pc in the past year," a spokesman for Trinity said last month.

Costs for Trinity accommodation vary between different buildings, both in the city centre campus and their halls of residence in Dartry, Rathmines.

Conor added that further increases to accommodation is something the SU will be tackling throughout the year.

"We'll be talking to the college about any changes to the accommodation prices over the course of this year and going into next year," he said.

"From talking to college staff what we know is that accommodation prices are increasing in line with inflation.

"We're looking out for the needs of the student so we're hoping to keep prices as low as possible and the digs is a great way to provide cheaper accommodation.

"The ideal situation is a house share with other students, but that's not always possible due to the sheer volume of students coming into the city," he added.

TCDSU have also advised any returning or incoming students to contact their accommodation advisory service for advice and tips on finding somewhere to live, especially due to the high number of fake ads that appeared online last summer.

"We will have two part-time staff advising students as well as computers and internet access for them to look up property websites," Conor said.

Increase

Meanwhile, Trinity is not alone in raising the cost of accommodation as UCD students will see their rent rise again, following a 13pc increase last year.

At the college's Belgrove premises the annual cost has gone from €5,058 to €5,210, while the price of Merville accommodation is €6,427 for the year, up from €5,481 last year.

The National College of Ireland, who provide accommodation to students from all colleges in the city, are also set to increase their rent by 6.2pc.

DCU students will also see an increase of 3pc from this September.