A report into student access to private rented housing has found a majority are happy with their accommodation.
Students in the Private Rented Sector: What are the issues?found less than 18 per cent of students surveyed in Dublin expressed a preference for better quality accommodation.
Carried out by the Centre for Housing Research, the report was commissioned by the Private Residential Tenancies Board at the request of Minister for the Environment John Gormley and Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe.
It surveyed 1,300 students in five Dublin colleges and found a majority of students were happy with their private rented accommodation and had a positive relationship with their landlord.
Proximity to college was a very important factor in choice of accommodation, the report found. It also said half of students currently living at home would prefer to be renting their own accommodation. There was a low awareness of the registration of tenancies and tenant's rights, it said.
The majority of students found their private rented accommodation in less than a month, with a small number stating that it took up to two months. A third of students found it difficult or very difficult to find accommodation.
The report said student numbers in Ireland are growing and are likely to continue to grow in the future, fuelled by an "increasing policy focus on attracting international students".
"The demand for student accommodation is therefore likely to expand in the future," it said.
It recommended landlords should be made aware of the potential of the student market and free advertising available through students' unions and college accommodation offices. "This climate could prove to be an opportunity in this sector," it said.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Mr Gormley said her remembered his days as a student when he stayed "in a kip". New regulations introduced in relation to accommodation "bring to an end the era of Rising Damptraditional bedsits", he said.
Mr O'Keeffe stressed the importance of attracting international students to Ireland and the need for good quality accommodation for them.
