Prices remain largely unchanged despite uncertainty on remote learning as part of many university courses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Dublin, the average cost of a room in a shared property is €680, up 0.3 per cent on the same time last year, while in other parts of the country, room rents are €462, up 2.8 per cent on average year-on-year.
Nationally, rents for full properties rose by 1.2 per cent in the year to July but were largely unchanged in Dublin city, rising by just 0.2 per cent.
The report also analyses the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector. It estimates current demand for PBSA units, using information on full-time enrolment levels by students’ home county and country.
Across the four major cities - Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway – there is an estimated need for over 50,000 student homes. Despite recent additions to supply, mainly in Dublin, the existing capacity of PBSA units is less than 33,000. Further, because of a large increase in the college-going age cohort – as well as further increases in enrolment rates and international student numbers – estimated demand for PBSA units is projected to increase to 64,000 over the coming decade.
For students preparing for the 2020/21 academic year, there is little evidence of any Covid-19 effect on rents.
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The third level institutions that have the five highest rental costs nearby are all based in Dublin, and the properties are all, on average, over €2000 a month.
Trinity College: €2,756UCD: €2,737IADT: €2,557TUD: €2,479DCU: € 2210
Trinity College Dublin economist Ronan Lyons, who wrote the report, said: “For students preparing for the 2020/21 academic year, there is little evidence of any Covid-19 effect on rents. Indeed, in most market segments of interest to students, rents may if anything be slightly higher than last year.
"Given large increases in rents in recent years, a year with largely unchanged rents is perhaps not the worst outcome for students. Substantial growth in student numbers over the coming decade – largely driven by a natural increase in the college-age cohort – means that the country needs significant construction of purpose-built student accommodation. Recent building has been concentrated in Dublin but the shortfall, of between 20,000 and 25,000 units, is spread around the major cities.”
