One of the biggest private student landlords in Dublin is increasing lease lengths for the 2024-2025 academic year, meaning students will now have to sign up for a 51-week tenancy, some 10 weeks longer than the typical lease for this year.
This is despite the fact that many students living in the city during the academic year do not require accommodation over the summer months.
The least expensive rate available for next year on Aparto’s website at the time of writing was €260 per week for a one-bed ground-floor en-suite room at its Dorset Point location in Dublin 1.
Assuming constant prices, the longer lease means that student will be paying €13,620 for their room next year compared with €10,660 this year, a more than 27 per cent increase. The lease length, meanwhile, will have increased by 24 per cent, from 41 weeks to 51 weeks.
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Owned by property investment giant Hines, the student landlord operates five locations in Dublin including the former Montrose Hotel near University College Dublin. It also has properties on Cork Street and Bonham Street in Dublin 8 as well as Dorset Street and in Summerhill, Dublin 1.
The change in lease terms is being driven by “market trends”, a spokesman for Hines said. “We have seen increased enquiries regarding the option of an extended tenancy, driven by a desire for greater cost certainty over the period.”
Other student accommodation providers including Yugo have also moved to a 51-week model. In private, industry figures are citing an increase in demand from medical and postgraduate students, who tend to have longer academic years, for longer-term lets.
However, the changes raise questions about where students travelling to Dublin for short-term stays over the summer months will be accommodated.
Asked whether Aparto is hoping students will pay for the full 51-week stay but vacate the property early, allowing it to accommodate a short-term resident and effectively charge twice for the same room, the spokesman said Aparto will never charge twice for the same room. However, summer lets will be phased out altogether after this year.
Hines Living, the trading entity behind the Aparto brand, reported accumulated profits of €541,000 in the year to the end of 2022, an increase of slightly less than €320,000 on the previous year.
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