Dublin is suffering one of its biggest rental crises in history. One only needs to look at Daft.ie to see that. On the website there are only 400 houses for rent of which the lowest price starts as low as 1300€ per month for a one-bedroom house. A totally exorbitant figure that is causing big headaches for students and immigrants who can not afford those prices.
In addition Dublin has a population of almost 2 million inhabitants which further highlights the shortage of housing available for rent in the most populous county in the country. However, this crisis is not only affecting Dublin but also some of the densest cities in the country such as Cork or Limerick.
This crisis has caused thousands of people to be forced to live in hostels or even in foster homes. The competition to find a room or a house in the capital is enormous and does not seem to be changing any time soon. The Irish government has stated that we are still far from solving the problem but that measures will gradually be implemented to alleviate the consequences.
The Irish Council for International Students (ICIS) has warned that international students are “particularly at risk” – amid growing reports of English-language students being forced to sleep on the streets, in cars, or on couches.
The Irish Examiner reports that some students are left with no choice but to return home without completing their courses because they’re facing the prospect of sleeping rough in Ireland.
The only advice for those people looking to rent a room or apartment in Dublin is to be very attentive to all those rental platforms such as Daft.ie, Rent.ie, MyProperty.ie… And avoid ads on Facebook or online as many can be scams or may offer contracts outside the legality.
