THIS is the worst year for student accommodation in Dublin, according to the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). The union says it has handled more queries for student accommodation - than ever and accommodation lists are being exhausted quickly.
The representative body for landlords claims this is because of new regulations introduced by the Minister of State for Housing, Ms Liz McManus, which compels landlords to register with their local authority.
Over 90 per cent of landlords have not registered their properties under the Registration of Rented Houses Regulations which came into effect in May according to the Irish Property Owners' Association (IPOA).
The regulations stipulate that all landlords had to register by July 1st or face a £1,000 penalty. No local authority has yet taken legal action against a landlord for non compliance.
Mr Fintan McNamara, chief executive of the association, said he had conducted a survey which found that only 10 per cent of members had registered. A leading member of the IPOA has been given leave to appeal the original decision of the Minister of State.
Mr McNamara said the accommodation shortage was as bad as outlined by USI. "A very large number of landlords are just not interested in providing the kind of accommodation students need because these new regulations make it too expensive".
Mr Colman Byrne, president of USI, said the registration charge is one of the reasons for the lack of student accommodation, but not the main one.
"An even greater reason is that it is simply more profitable for landlords to operate at the top end of the market. They just don't want students a lot of the time," he said.
"We are seeing a lot more landlords converting their properties and withdrawing from the student market," he added.
The IPOA claims the £40 perunit charge included in the regulations is "a new form of taxation on landlords" Mr McNamara said landlords faced large costs. "If you consider a landlord with 10 units will have an additional annual bill of £400, you can see what kind of burden it is."
The Department of the Environment says there is little chance of legal action being taken against non registered landlords until the judicial review is concluded. The last available figures from the Department show that only 8,700 units have been registered.
Ms McManus, in previous statements, has said the per unit charge will be used to finance an increased programme of property inspection. The IPOA claims a programme of inspection of land lords' property is not as costly as estimated by the Department.
Ms Mary Higgins, director of the housing and tenants rights agency, Threshold, said landlords were scaremongering when they warned about the withdrawal of their properties from the market.
"When the landlords say they are not going to be able to offer the kind of accommodation needed by students maybe they mean that converting their property into houses is simply more profitable this was indicated in the recent report which showed big increases in house prices in Dublin," she said.
Ms Higgins said Threshold was opposed to the registration scheme because it did not go far enough. "We would be more in favour of a licensing system, we don't actually think this new scheme is going to improve the lot of tenants very much," she said.
"I think the landlords ignore the fact that this per unit charge is tax deductible. I don't think it is a terrible burden for them. I don't blame people for thinking the only reason the landlords are so set against this scheme is that they fear they may be liable for more tax.