“I can’t find anything, the only people who respond are scammers,” said Muzafar Ahmed from Tipperary.
He is one of thousands of students to receive CAO offers this week, and one of many searching for student accommodation.
Ahmed is hoping to move to Limerick to study mechanical engineering at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) but described the search as “impossible”, amid rampant online scams.
“They send photos and I do reverse image searches on Google and it literally shows an advertisement in Bristol or the UK,” he said, adding that scams often seek deposits to secure viewings.
If he cannot secure accommodation before the semester begins, he hopes to sleep on someone’s couch or he may have to spend two hours commuting each day if all else fails.
“My friends are in the same boat as me,” he said.
In statements, several universities across the country including the University of Galway, Maynooth University, University of Limerick, and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) noted increasing demand outweighing supply.
A spokeswoman for Dublin City University said demand has increased again this year with the college receiving more than four applications for every bed available.
The search for accommodation is more like a “hunt”, according to TCD Students’ Union (TCDSU) president Jenny Maguire.
TCDSU’s accommodation advisory service, which has been inundated with calls from students and parents, is expecting an influx of contacts following the first round of CAO offers.
“It is unbelievable how little supply there is, and the supply that is there is unbelievably expensive,” she said.
At worst, she said, the lack of accommodation will result in students dropping out or deferring the year while couch surfing and commuting long distances have already become the norm.
“This happens every year and it seems to be getting worse and worse, somehow,” she said, describing it as a “lack of respect” for students.
“From being on the ground, I don’t see anything that we should be proud about, I see students homeless during their studies,” she said.
Anna Murphy from Rosslare, Co Wexford, has been searching for accommodation since her son Eóin received high enough marks to study economics and finance at Technological University Dublin (TUD).
“We wanted him to get over the line first, there’s no point in me looking for accommodation if he wasn’t going to get in,” she said.
The search for accommodation quickly overtook the joy brought that day, she said, adding that it has been “frustrating,” “stressful” and “ridiculous”.
“We have been given no options at all, we’ll just have to take what we can get or pay through the nose for it,” she said.
Ms Murphy said some rooms which remain available can cost up to €2,200 a month.
Despite Ms Murphy’s daughter moving to Dublin to study at TUD two years ago, she said the scarcity of student accommodation remains unchanged.
“It happens every year and nothing has changed at all,” she said adding that the Government should invest more in “student life”.
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