A good plan is better than a last-minute scram,” is Martin Clancy’s of Daft.ie advice to students going to college this year. Finding accommodation at third level has always required investment of substantial time and effort, but with each passing year this is becoming a more difficult feat, particularly in Dublin.

Basically, there are too few homes available, with Daft.ie’s 2015 Q1 Rental Report finding that the stock of rental properties available continues to fall. While 2011 saw almost 60,000 rental properties listed over the course of the year, the last 12 months have seen just 35,000 listed.

Couple this with the fact that a lot of college accommodation is already booked out. NUI Galway says its student residences are all booked up due to an extensive waiting list. There is, however, a very small number of shared (twin) rooms still available.

The shortage of accommodation in Dublin has been widely reported on this year.

“The supply of on-campus accommodation is always outpaced by the demand,” says a UCD spokesperson.

Following a recommendation by the Student Residences Review Group, UCD has increased the number of places for CAO applicants from 815 to 1,135. This group set out the allocation of places according to “vulnerability” and, therefore, deemed first years should get preference ahead of continuing students, on the basis that the latter have lived away from home for at least a year.

The cost of on-campus accommodation has increased in UCD this year by 13%, but the college says that despite this increase the cost of on-campus accommodation still remains below comparable market rents.

An accommodation waiting list in UCD is now open for applications and will remain open until 12 July. The ranking process is no longer on a first-come first-served basis. Rather, the names will be sorted by computer-generated random selection. In order to put your name on the waiting list you must have selected a course in UCD on your CAO form.

In Trinity, rooms are not allocated for incoming CAO applicants until after the CAO offers issue. In Waterford IT, College Fields is nearly at maximum occupancy, while Manor Village is still taking applications but would expect to fill by the second week in July.

There is no college-run campus accommodation in LyIT in Donegal, but a spokesperson from the college said there is “no way a shortage in the area” of private accommodation.

While with the exception of Donegal, the situation may sound bleak, readers should note those who have booked places still haven’t received their CAO offers and may not be taking a place in that college.

Therefore, they will cancel their accommodation booking. A spokesperson from NUI Galway said that “rooms are available for pre-booking here, but each year on average of a third of these get cancelled after the CAO offers.”

Union of Students of Ireland (USI) president Kevin Donoghue notes that people are looking for accommodation earlier this year than in previous years.

The USI is launching an initiative via www.homes.usi.ie, which promotes a rent-a-room relief scheme, allowing homeowners near colleges to earn up to €12,000 renting a room tax-free.

“It’s received a very positive response,” he says.

It’s basically digs. But will all students really be interested in digs?

“It’s a good option if you’re in first year. The element of routine is not for everyone. This provides a short to medium-term alleviation of the problem. Long-term digs isn’t the solution. There needs to be more purpose-built student accommodation.”

Kevin notes that the problem is more acute around universities rather than ITs.

“ITs tend to attract students from the locality meaning it can be less problematic for ITs than Universities. Students are not necessarily coming from Mayo to IT Blanchardstown. There’s a higher proportion of people commuting from home to ITs.”

Martin Clancy from Daft.ie has the following advice for students looking for accommodation: “Begin your search as early as possible. Make sure you’re organised and use the handy colleges search on Daft.ie to narrow your search area by location, price, bedroom, property type, length of lease and move-in date.

“Other things to consider are cycle and walking distances, bus and rail services to your college campus, supermarkets, distance to the city/town centre as well as factoring in how close you are to other students, as well as your friends. Be realistic about what you can afford each month. Rent is unlikely to be your only expense.”

In UCD specifically, the accommodation booking and support office provides a housing advice centre and a service that shows listings of houses, flats, apartments, lodgings and general self-catering accommodation – visit www.ucdaccomoda tionspad.ie.

Kevin Donoghue notes that scamming has become a factor in the student rental market in recent times.

“People are paying deposits over the phone and not seeing the places. People are paying a deposit and month’s rent and arriving up and there’s no house. Make sure the landlord is registered with Private Residential Tenancies Board Ireland and see the house before you take it.”

Other things to think about when considering housemates include housework (many people have different views on what defines clean), night owl/early bird tendancies, habits (smoking, etc), interests and how sociable or private they are. Think ahead when planning.