UCC vacancy figures expose the cost of student rents
UCC vacancy figures expose the cost of student rents - The Labour Party
Labour further and higher education spokesperson Senator Laura Harmon has commended University College Cork for urging private landlords to reduce rents after it identified a 40% vacancy rate among properties within walking distance of campus. Responding to today’s Irish Examiner report, she called on landlords to bring prices within students’ reach and on Government to act on the wider accommodation crisis.
Senator Harmon said:
“Every autumn we hear the same stories. Students spend weeks and months searching for somewhere to live, face rents their families cannot meet, or take on long commutes that eat into their study and working time. Today’s report points to a particularly frustrating part of that crisis: rooms appear to be available near campus, yet rents are so high students struggle to find an affordable place.
“I commend UCC for taking action in this way. Landlords should respond to UCC’s appeal and reduce rents now. They need a home they can afford while they attend lectures, complete placements and take part in college life.
“Government must also face the bigger problem. Year after year, students and parents shoulder the cost of a student accommodation system that fails them. Ministers should work with colleges to increase the supply of genuinely affordable places and make sure public investment delivers rents students can actually pay.
“UCC has taken a welcome step. Now landlords must cut their prices, and Government must set out how it will bring affordable student accommodation within reach across the country. No student should have to put their education at risk because they cannot find a room they can afford.”