International Students Face Overcrowded Housing in Limerick
up to 16 international students in Limerick are experiencing severely overcrowded living conditions after securing accommodation through an online advertisement. The students, many attending the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and the University of Limerick (UL), were initially led to believe they would be sharing a house with only four to six people.
However, upon arrival, they discovered a property where 18 students were crammed into what was originally a two-bedroom house. One student, speaking anonymously, described arriving to find a queue of equally dismayed individuals and being unable to move his luggage due to the lack of space. “When I got the advertisement, I contacted the landlord. He told me there would be four to six people in the house. When I arrived there was a queue of people waiting outside. Like me they were devastated,” he said. “When I got into the house I couldn’t even move my luggage because there was so much stuff and other people in the rooms.There wasn’t even room to move.”
The conditions within the house are described as tough. four single beds were initially placed in one room with minimal space between them. While two additional toilets have recently been added, the house initially had only one toilet for all tenants. Single beds have also been added to rooms on the third floor, accessible by a narrow stairway.
When one student challenged the landlord about the discrepancy between the advertised occupancy and the reality, he was reportedly told that a housing crisis in Ireland explained the situation. “It was very difficult as there was only one kitchen and a toilet downstairs for all 18 tenants to share,” the student explained. He had paid a €500 deposit and a further €500 in advance rent.
Gearóid Folan, Vice President of the TUS Students’ Union, described the situation as “shocking” and ”disgraceful” after visiting the property. “We are in a situation where up to 18 students were living in a two-bedroom house.I am appalled by this and I have never seen anything like this in my time. I’m genuinely worried about the students’ situation in the house,” he stated. TUS is actively assisting the students in finding choice accommodation and has already secured new housing for some.
The University of Limerick is also providing support. In a statement, UL Global and the Accommodation Service said they are “doing everything possible to engage with the students to find alternative, more suitable accommodation.”
Students report that finding alternative accommodation is proving difficult as most student housing in Limerick is already fully occupied with the start of the academic year. Attempts to contact the landlord for comment have, so far, been unsuccessful.
