`Hide the extra mattresses'

Brigid has lived in two different houses in south county Dublin with at least eight other people at any one time

Brigid has lived in two different houses in south county Dublin with at least eight other people at any one time. At one stage, in the first house, there were six students and five apprentices sharing four bedrooms and a converted dining room. The five apprentices shared the converted diningroom and the rent was split equally.

The landlord was under the impression that there were five people in the house so every month they had to do a clean-up and hide the extra mattresses - in the shed, attic or bushes and get all the extra people out. They then moved to a house in the same area and until a few months ago there were nine sharing a five-bedroomed house. The landlord thought there were five.

Brigid thinks that the house will be too big and empty with just five sharing. There was always a mixture of students and working people in the house, and the most they ever spent on rent was £220 per month, the least being £125 per month.