Years of housing undersupply, combined with the exit of small landlords from the market, has led to a dire situation for those looking for a rental home. According to leading property website Daft.ie, rental prices hit an all-time high in August, with supply at the lowest level since the site began tracking in 2006. The cost of rental accommodation has increased by 12.6% compared to last year. In a country of 5.1 million people, on August 1 there were only 716 homes available for rent. Particularly vulnerable to the crisis are students who are desperate to secure housing on the brink of the new academic year. “Nobody wants to rent to students,” Kerri Fry tells us at her family home in Burt, Co Donegal. She is about to start her second year studying Spanish and Film at University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland’s largest university. While she had on-campus accommodations her first year, none were available to her this time. “I’ve been looking for somewhere with a boyfriend since April and so far nothing,” says Kerri. On her laptop, she shows us the results of her search for a two-bed flat in South Dublin, near UCD, on a budget of €1,800 (£1,555) a month. There are a total of four such properties in the capital. He has applied for all but heard nothing. Image: Kerri Fry told Sky News she has been looking since April for a place to live “Term starts in about a week and a half,” Kerri says, “and I’ve got nowhere to live, nowhere to go. I can’t really go anywhere with the term so close. It’s just really scary, honestly.” Kerri has seen listings that later turned out to be non-existent – attempts to swindle desperate students out of deposits without seeing a physical property. According to the Garda [Irish police]reports of such crimes have risen by 30% since before the pandemic, as the rent crisis makes it more likely that students will take risks. “Yes, they are probably desperate,” says Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan, of the Garda National Financial Crime Bureau. “But they [renters] they also see it as a one-time offer. They see a listing on social media, it says get it today, and there’s a sense of urgency. Then think ‘if I don’t get it, I’ll lose it’, so they take a risk, yes.” The nationwide shortage of accommodation has seen long queues outside properties with open views. A video of more than 100 people vying to view a single house in Drumcondra, Dublin, illustrated the harsh realities that renters face, especially in the capital. Image: Courtney Doyle has spent the last five years sleeping on friends’ couches In the city’s west, 22-year-old Courtney Doyle has finally secured a flat for her and her partner Ross after spending the past five years sleeping on friends’ sofas. It was urgently needed as she is now six months pregnant. “It caused a lot of stress and anxiety,” says Courtney, “especially couch-surfing.” “I was thinking, what if I don’t find a place in time, is it appropriate to go ahead with a pregnancy, is it fair to bring someone into the world without a place to stay?” Although Courtney was housed with the help of a government “cost rent” program, she says the state isn’t doing enough to help. “Definitely not, it’s a total crisis. There’s just not enough houses for us, otherwise it’s just not affordable. Especially for people on lower incomes.” The Irish government does not deny the scale of the problem. “Look it’s sharp, there’s no question,” Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien told Sky News. “We’ve had an issue of undersupply in all housing terms over the last ten years. There’s no doubt that it’s made the situation much more difficult.” Image: Darragh O’Brien (right), housing minister at the launch of a new housing project Today also marks the first anniversary of the government’s much-heralded ‘Housing for All’ initiative, a €4bn-a-year plan to increase supply and reduce costs for those looking for accommodation. The government says it’s an unprecedented effort to fix a years-long shortfall – political opponents say 14 of the plan’s targets have already been missed. At the moment, Ireland’s housing market is undeniably broken. Across the country, would-be renters like Kerri Fry are still huddled over laptops, engaged in a frustrating and seemingly endless search for a place to call home.
