Student Seeks Living Space
Daragh | September 27, 2007Last week, I found myself back in Dublin along with thousands of other students looking for a flat. I had been discarded by the Trinity accomodation services and was fortunate enough to have to look for a room in September, the most competitive of months in this respect. My search was crowned in success in under 4 days, but I realised along the way that it is extremely difficult to find somewhere that is both affordable and acceptable, and that prices have been steadily rising since I moved here in 2003.
Finding a place to live in Dublin is akin to a theatrical audition/beauty pageant. It is all about making a lasting first impression which will convince a landlord of your ability to pay the rent and keep a place clean. In these circumstances, being a student evidently does not help, and one is inevitably thanked for one’s interest upon delivering this news in an apologetic fashion. As if being a student wasn’t compatible with normality and responsibility, even more so for us male students who are deemed more likely to burn a house down at the end of a 4-day binge.
Initially, my search took me to public viewings along with dozens of other punters. Once I had shown interest in overpriced bedsits due to a lack of alternatives, I went through the usual rejection process whereby overwhelmed landlords rejected me based on prejudiced first impressions, choosing the most ‘respectable’ of candidates instead (ie. a young professional, a shit-for-brains accountant who likes getting ‘trolleyed’ 3 night a week, living solely for the weekend). Some use scare tactics, doubling or tripling the required deposits to narrow the field down. One memorable character took advantage of the situation and opened a bidding war: “Whoever gives me the most money gets the place.” In this world, students don’t have a chance.Â
Eventually, it becomes clear that second-tier housing is the only remaining option to us low-lives. Here is proof: one letting agent, unaware of my student stigma due to my English accent (which, surprisingly, helps!), told me over the phone that he did have a 2 bedroom flat available but that he couldn’t really show it to me because it could only really be rented to students, and would I please wait for something more suitable to come up, please? So we worthless human beings are left with so-called ‘student housing’, synonymous with ’shit-rundown-cold-dreary-overpriced’. Some of the places on the market are appalling, and it is commonly thought that a student should be grateful enough to be given somewhere to live, and should accept whatever is thrown his way.
The solution, it seems, is for everyone to engage in a show of solidarity with the student population of our wonderful city, and give up all rented housing, and squat in the city centre until all accomodation is done up to standard. Then, and only then, should places be re-allocated randomly, and life can resume. Until then, I will carry on paying 650 Euros a month for the right to live in a damp, dark, dump in Dublin. Savage.        Â
Hi. I recently looked for housing as a couple and it was quite competitive as well, Even with both of us working we decided we couldn’t afford to live in the inner city and have moved to Dublin 5. Are you looking outside the center as well? I’ll be interested to find out how you go looking next month or when you get to it. I saw a lot of pretty places available for single people to share.
Good luck,
Jaime.
Great post Jaques!
Looking for affordable accommodation is really tuff. Especially for students. But us ‘young professionals’ face pretty much the same difficulties. Seriously overpriced apartments where you’ll have various species of Funghi for roommates. Huge competition with people who are in the same boat as you. And landlords who can pretty much ask any price for their rundown shack ‘in excellent condition’.
I would like to see a nationwide research into rent prices and also some rules and regulations around this. Having to pay half of your salary towards your rent does not exactly add to your quality of life…
We had the same experience and we are a young professional married couple. I could not believe how agents would judge us based on our appearance during these so called public viewings. It is like a cattle market
Luckily we eventually found a nice place and are moving next week.
Welcome to dublinblog Jacques. Its sad to see that student accommodation hasn’t gotten any better since my days of slumming it in Rathmines circa early 90′s. Infact it seems to have gotten worse – from an availability and liveability point of view. Its such a shame that theres no standards landlords have to adhere to. I heard a radio programme recently which said that non-payment of deposits to tenants by landlords accounted for the biggest number of claims in the Small Claims Court. Its disgraceful.
I needed a place for 3 months last spring and ended up basically lying my way into student-only housing in Tallaght of all places. But there I was, an American postgrad student who couldn’t afford shit, looking for a very specific housing situation for 500 or less a month, and entirely unable to do anything but email household after household on daft.ie looking for a short-term sharing situation. Which was completely unsuccessful for three months, until I happened upon a lovely Canadian girl who needed a roommate for precisely the dates I required and didn’t mind me lying to the landlord. I’ve never wished so hard that I actually passed for 22.
And yes, Dervla, I had to fight tooth and nail for two months after I was back in the States to get my deposit back. Fortunately, the whole weakening-of-the-dollar thing totally worked in my favor, as it had gone down so low in the interim as to even out all the fees for an international bank transfer!
What a plonker… When I was a student in Dublin (’til June 2005) I lived in a student complex in Blackhall Place, right next to the LUAS I paid $450 and the place was truely amazing – I did share with another student but we had each an en-suite bathroom.
You just have to know where to look.