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The Irish Council for International Students (ICOS), which has today published a report on the experiences of students, has warned that the country’s housing crisis is “jeopardising Ireland’s excellent reputation as a study destination” and risks undermining the hard work of colleges across Ireland.
ICOS said it surveyed 819 international students from 73 countries, who participated in an online survey researching their experiences of trying to find accommodation. Of those questioned, 46pc were international students in higher education and 54pc were English-language students.
More than one in 10 – 13pc – of those asked said they had been a victim of an accommodation scam while they were in Ireland. Of those who encountered a rental scam, just 11pc said they had reported the scam to gardaí.
The ICOS said 5pc of international students had encountered proposed “sex-for-rent” arrangements when trying to find accommodation – either being personally offered a room in exchange for sexual acts, or having seen an ad offering accommodation in exchange for sex.
A student from the US told the survey they had seen an ad “on social media for an ‘open-minded woman’ to share a room in an owner-occupied house – it looked like the owner placed the ad”.
The research also found that many international students may be staying in crowded rooms, or sharing with strangers.
The vast majority of English-language students – 81pc – and almost a third of international higher-education students said that they were sharing a room with at least one other person.
One Brazilian English-language student told the survey they were “sharing a double bed with a person I don’t know” while a Bolivian student said they were paying high rent for a house where there are just two bathrooms for 13 people.
The ICOS found that the process of trying to find accommodation could be protracted, with one in 10 international students saying that it took them more than 100 days to find somewhere to live.
Accommodation arrangements were also precarious, with more than half of English-language students having no lease agreement.
One Argentinian student reported that their landlord “has been threatening to sell the house, we have zero protection from RTB [Residential Tenancies Board] because we are licensees, [and the] eviction ban is lifted. I’ve been trying to find a new place for two months now and it’s impossible.”
Nearly half of students said that they were not happy with their accommodation, and more than half said that it was affecting their mental health.
Laura Harmon, the executive director of ICOS, said her organisation was calling for more affordable, purpose-built student accommodation, as well as an increase in inspections of private rental properties and a new dedicated government strategy for student accommodation.
“It is important that we listen to first-hand accounts and experiences of students, understand them, and take action to address them,” Ms Harmon said.
“Among a range of other serious issues, we are particularly concerned about the evidence of predators seeking sex in lieu of rent and are calling for urgent legislation to clamp down on this.”
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