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New rules on student accommodation in effect

The Minister for Housing has signed an order putting into effect new legislation on tenancies and licences for student-specific accommodation.

Darragh O’Brien said that the bill was a response to a move by some private accommodation providers to implement a 51-week occupancy model.

The commencement order for the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2024, which limits the duration of such tenancies or licences to not more than 41 weeks, has been set for 19 July 2024.

Sanctions

The act also prohibits advance payments of more than one month’s rent, except where a person is paying both rent and tuition fees to the same relevant education provider.

The legislation also applies Residential Tenancies Board sanctions to ‘improper conduct’ by a landlord or licensor for exceeding the 41-week limit.

“While there may be a market for 51-week leases among some members of the student population, it is neither desirable nor affordable for the vast majority of third-level students and their families, who rightly wish to pay for accommodation only during the academic term, when it is used,” said Minister O’Brien.

He added that the Government had to act to safeguard students from tenancies or licences that exceeded the academic term, and demands for excessive upfront payments to secure a tenancy or licence.