‘There are rooms for €700 in houses that are very run down’

David Dunne has been looking for a home for almost a year and despite a couple of near misses has always come up short.

He lives in his family home in Swords but has been trying to find a place to live close to the city centre.

“Maybe I am being a bit too fussy,” the 29-year-old admits. “I’d like it to be close to work and to have parking because I sometimes need my car for my job.That combination has made it difficult.”

He has a budget of up to €800 which has put even the smallest of apartments out of his reach so he has limited himself to house-share arrangements.

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"Even getting viewings can be tricky," he says. "I came close to taking a room in Dublin 7 but to be honest I was a little concerned about security so I decided against it. There was another place in Dundrum but that fell through as well."

One of the hardest things to take when trying to find a home is the fact that many potential leads don’t bother to return calls or emails, says Dunne, who works in The Irish Times’ video department.

“I check the property websites almost every day and I am constantly sending out emails and leaving voicemails. Maybe it is because demand is so strong but most of the time people don’t even bother responding to messages.”

The other issue is price. He thought a budget of his size would be enough to get a fairly decent room but he has been dismayed at the lack of choice.

“There are rooms going for €700 in houses that are very run down, they really are in a bad state,” he says. “And some people who are sub-letting try imposing ridiculous rules. There was one house where a room was up for grabs but only for a tenant willing to make themselves scarce at weekends. It’s hardly your home if you can’t stay there on a Saturday or Sunday, is it?”