Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Mairéad Farrell TD, has said she is being contacted by students encountering serious difficulties in qualifying for SUSI due to renting in digs accommodation.
Deputy Farrell stated that those students, particularly mature and postgraduate, who have been living independently, are required to show their independence through the likes of utility bills in their own name. But for those in digs accommodation, bills are in the homeowner’s name, and electricity is included in the rent they pay.
Many end up paying in cash as there is no formal legal relationship, which she said underscores the need to pass her Digs Regulation bill (Residential Tenancies Amendment bill 2024).
Teachta Farrell said:
“The government’s plans for student accommodation were largely twofold. Unaffordable vulture fund-owned accommodation, and those renting a room with a homeowner. The former has proved unaffordable for most, the latter, while more affordable, has brought its own problems in terms of a lack of regulation.
“All the horror stories arising from a lack of rights of privacy for young women, people being evicted overnight, having the deposit taken with no access to any dispute resolution through the RTB, have been well documented.
“What is less well documented is the fact that the lack of regulation means difficulties for those living independently to prove this independence for the purpose of qualifying for the grant.
“The SUSI regulations presume that those renting are in a normal tenancy, not the Wild West of the rental sector, which is the digs accommodation sector. That’s not SUSI’s fault. It’s the fault of the government who tried to move people towards digs accommodation but didn’t put in place any regulations for this part of the market.
“One of the provisions of my bill is the establishment of a licence notification register. This is where the homeowner has to notify the RTB of the details of the licence agreement in place.
“These details include the name of the tenant, the duration of the stay, the rent being paid, etc. This could form the basis of evidence of independent living to SUSI for those in such a position.”
