SINN Féin TD for Limerick City, Maurice Quinlivan, has urged cross-party support for the USI calls to provide greater protections for student renters. The motion will be heard in the Dáil on Wednesday.
Deputy Quinlivan stated:
“The Residential Tenancies (Student Rents and Other Protections) (Covid-19) Bill 2021, drafted by the USI alongside Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin and spokesperson on Higher Education Rose Conway-Walsh, will provide greatly improved protections for student renters and their parents. The bill has been signed by 56 opposition TDs.
“Many students renting student accommodation currently pay a term in advance, which usually runs from September to May, and can cost from on average €900 per month in Limerick. Students and their parents paying for this accommodation are generally from outside Limerick from counties like Laois and Offaly with no universities and in some cases, parents are paying costs for more than one student at a time.
“This is a huge outlay for many families, especially middle-income households who cannot access SUSI grants.
The Limerick TD added:
“The bill would prevent providers of student specific accommodation from charging more than one month’s rent in advance. Crucially, the bill also addresses concerns raised by the USI about students and their parents not being able to access refunds when they had to leave, or could not take up, student accommodation due to Covid-19 restrictions. This was a real problem for people attending the University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College and the Limerick Institute of Technology.”
Concluding his remarks, the Sinn Féin TD stated:
“In the past year, many students have found themselves unable to access their accommodation due to public health measures. They were denied rent refunds for unused accommodation. This bill allows for the prompt refunds in such instances. This bill would also enable a student to end a tenancy in student-specific accommodation by serving the landlord with a notice of termination of 28 days. I urge TDs from all parties and none to support this bill to provide students, and their parents, the protections they require.”
