Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Dep Mairéad Farrell, has said that students and parents seeking accommodation for the coming academic year should first check with the national housing charity, Threshold, which is running its annual Scamwatch campaign.
The campaign aims to help people detect accommodation scams, which are increasingly prevalent. Threshold has several different methods of checking whether offers for accommodation are genuine, for example checking the Residential Tenancies Board register.
“Threshold, in conjunction with the Union of Students of Ireland [USI] and the Irish Council for International Students [ICOS] have launched their annual campaign to prevent students and their parents from falling victim to fraudsters," Teachta Farrell said.
“The fact that this campaign has to be run annually is just another indication of how bad the student housing crisis is, and how it continues to get worse.
“There are criminals who want to prey on the desperation of students and parents at this time of year, as the next academic year approaches, course offers are made, and the competition for what little accommodation there is intensifies.
“For those who have fallen victim to such scams there is little means of redress, either via the Gardaí or by trying to recover the money through the bank, so it is essential that people exercise caution.
“Do your due diligence, and one of the best ways to do that is check with Threshold, the USI or ICOS.”
