42,000 Student Beds to Be Made Available by 2035

“According to the Government’s new National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026-2035, 42,000 beds will be made available for students through incentivised private developments. The projection includes 15,000 deficit beds currently needed by students to support the current enrollment levels and prevent long commuting patterns. The strategy was announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD on March 24th. It is designed to address two challenges to the current student housing market: affordability and supply. On a supply level, the Government plans to leverage State-owned land on campuses to develop new rooms through fixed-term licence agreements with private developers. “I am moving immediately to fast-track this approach”, said Minister James Lawless. However, according to Lawless, no new student beds will be ready by September 2026 for the next academic year. Lawless qualified the strategy as “a long-term plan” that is “not going to deliver overnight”. This comes as the key State strategy to tackle the student accommodation crisis has been delayed by more than two years. Although planning permission has been granted for these beds, rising construction costs have prevented their production. As part of the government’s 42,000 projection, 10,000 of these beds will be provided through “digs-style” rent-a-room agreements between private homes. This scheme allows homeowners to claim €14,000 a year in tax-free rental income when renting a room in their home to a student. On affordability, Lawless said €176 million had been committed to student support within the strategy. This includes already-existing schemes like the SUSI non-adjacent maintenance grant and the PATH 2 (1916 Bursary). The strategy also builds on more recent programmes, like the Short-Term Activation Programme, which provides 1,000 student beds, 30 per cent of which are available at below-market rates. Concluding, Minister Lawless said, “This Strategy is focused on activation, acceleration, affordability and delivery. My priority is to move from plans on paper to beds for students – and this Strategy gives us the tools to do exactly that.”

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