The National Student Accommodation Strategy (NSAS) 2017–2024 was developed to address rising demand for student housing and ease pressure on the wider rental market. It set eight targets, including construction of 7,000 additional Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) beds by 2019, which was exceeded with more than 8,000 delivered. A further target sought at least 21,000 new PBSA beds by 2024, above the 2017 baseline of 33,441. Despite challenges including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and supply chain disruption, total PBSA reached approximately 49,000 beds by June 2025, representing 15,559 new beds.
Addressing the continuing shortage of affordable student accommodation remains a key priority for my Department. Under the Short-Term Activation Programme, 609 beds have been delivered or are progressing. These include Maynooth University’s completed 116-bed project, UCD’s 493-bed project now approved for construction. A 358-bed development at Trinity College Dublin is also under consideration. The proposed 405-bed project at DCU will not proceed due to cost considerations.
I will bring the second National Student Accommodation Strategy to Government in the coming weeks. It will include ambitious multi-annual targets and directly support commitments in the Programme for Government to deliver new student accommodation, including state-financed PBSA on public or private lands.
To support implementation, €1 million in funding is available to build capacity within publicly funded HEIs. The Technological Sector Student Accommodation Programme is also progressing, with 53 strategic proposals submitted and preliminary business cases expected in 2026.
The Rent a Room Relief Scheme which was introduced in 2014 allowed homeowners tax relief on income by renting out a room in their owner-occupied residence and the threshold was increased to €14,000 in 2017. In May 2022, the Department of Social Protection announced a new regulation allowing up to €14,000 per year in rental income to be disregarded for means tested. social welfare payments. This aligned the Social Welfare System with the existing Revenue Rent-a-Room Relief.
The Rent Tax Credit, introduced in Finance Act 2022, was increased from €750 to €1,000 for an individual claimant and from €1,500 to €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple for 2025.
These changes all have attributed in the update of digs accommodation.
