Trinity Students’ Union Confirms Third Consecutive Rent Freeze

“On Tuesday, June 9th, the Trinity College Students’ Union (TCDSU) confirmed a rent freeze for the upcoming academic year 2026/27. This marks the third consecutive year of rent freezes on College owned accommodation, and applies to all on-campus housing as well as Trinity Hall. According to the official TCDSU Instagram, the freeze was passed through the Finance Committee, “following negotiations and lobbying done by the TCDSU-AMLCT Sabbatical Team”. In the announcement, the Union further writes: “At a time when students continue to face rising living costs, protecting affordable accommodation remains a priority. This result shows what collective organising, pressure, and student advocacy can achieve. We remain focussed on continuing to fight for accessible and affordable student housing for all.” TCDSU President, Grace McNally, told The University Times that the sabbatical team began working on the rent freeze shortly after sabbat elections in February. “Since then, we have been in direct negotiations with the Head of Accommodation, Commercial Director and the Dean of Students. (…) Once those discussions had progressed, the key decision point was (the) Finance Committee, where I made a final push for rents to remain at their current level for 2026/27,” she said. “It was hard work and certainly wasn’t something that happened overnight.” The Union’s discourse surrounding the past years’ rent freezes has been criticised for being misleading and for overexaggerating the Union’s role. Reports brought in Trinity News and The University Times last year suggest that the College had no intention of increasing the rent for the academic year 2025/26. In a statement to Trinity News in March 2025, a College spokesperson stated that, “the suggestion that there is a proposed plan to increase rent for the academic year 2025/2026 is incorrect”. TCSDU President for 2024/25, Jenny Maguire, later rebuked the College’s claims, noting it as “an insincere framing”. When asked to comment on the previous year’s backlash and the potential of receiving similar criticism, McNally stated that she could not comment on the specifics of last year. “What I can speak to is the work that has been done this year,” she continued. “Since taking office, our team has been so heavily engaged, and we have worked closely together throughout all of our separate and joined projects.” “Following a series of negotiations and meetings with the Dean of Students and the Head of Accommodation throughout the semester, we were consulted on the proposal that College intended to bring to the Executive Officers Group for approval. In that final stage of discussions, we made it clear that any proposal involving a rent increase would be unacceptable given the financial pressures students are already facing. We used that opportunity to strongly advocate for a rent freeze and to ensure that the proposal ultimately brought forward by College did not include an increase in accommodation charges for the 2026/27 academic year. The rent freeze announced this year is therefore the result of a specific decision taken for next year, following those discussions and negotiations, rather than part of a multi-year pricing plan.” “Every Students’ Union team operates in different circumstances and adopts different approaches. What matters most to our team is the outcome for students,” McNally said. In a comment to The University Times, President Elect, Amy Kennedy, noted that she intends “to keep working on the rent freezes, and hope(s) to push college to a further reduction of rents for access program students in addition to preventing rent increases in the future years.” Answering specifically on whether she, and the upcoming Sabbatical Officers, would work on securing a long term commitment rather than annual negotiations, Kennedy explained that the terms of college owned accommodation are renewed on an annual basis: “The annual system for (the) rent freeze campaign has made sense to ensure the SU secures the best possible deal for students.” “I would not rule out seeking a longer term rent freeze agreement, but am happy to see the success of the annual rent freeze for the upcoming year,” she concluded. The University Times has reached out to College for comment.

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