The executive director of the International Council of International Students in Ireland has said that the housing crisis in Cork and other cities and towns with students seeking accommodation is proving to be a ‘fertile ground’ for scammers seeking to extort money from would be tenants.

Laura Harmon, who hails from the Gaeltacht Mhúscraí village of Baile Mhúirne, spoke to The Corkman this week to issue a warning about an escalating crisis which will get even worse this week as the Leaving Certificate exam results are due to be published on Friday

"I checked Daft.ie this morning (Monday) and there were only 97 properties available for rent within 10k of the city centre and there will be thousands of students next week seeking accommodation for the first time,” said Ms. Harmon.

ICOS has joined forces with Threshold, the national housing charity, and the Union of Students Ireland (USI) to raise awareness of rental scams ahead of the new academic year, next month. The three organisations have launched Scamwatch, a campaign to raise awareness about false landlords and other fraudulent schemes to part prospective students and their parents from hefty deposits and rent advances.

“We strongly support this campaign given the growing nature of fraudulent cases involving international students trying to source in the rental sector here.

"A study that ICOS carried out last year involving almost 500 international students found that nearly one-in-seven (14%) said that they had been a victim of an accommodation scam while in Ireland, of whom a quarter were English language students.

“These students are often more vulnerable as English is not their first language and they usually don’t have relations or friends they can stay with in the short-term while looking for a place to live.

"We encourage all students to read and heed all the advice in this campaign, and to contact the various channels provided if they have concerns or queries.”

Ms. Harmon said that issues such as dereliction. which is rife in Cork city, the failure by the Government to build sufficient dedicated student accommodation and the increasing levels of homelessness, exacerbated by the end of the eviction ban, were all combining to make it a ‘fertile ground’ for scammers as they exploited the increasing desperation generated by low supply and high demand for accommodation.

"While finding accommodation without falling for increasingly sophisticated scamming operators was a challenge for Irish students looking to register in universities, technical universities and other third level institutions here, it was even more challenging for international students.

"They’re not living in the country so they’re not aware of the situation in Ireland in terms of the housing crisis and they wouldn’t be familiar with different areas and they wouldn’t know what the standard rent is and the technicalities and legalities when you start renting in Ireland.”

The new campaign highlights the “dos and don’ts” for students and provides them with contact information for Threshold, ICOS and USI where they can request advice about their rights as private renters and safeguards, they should take to avoid scams. See www.threshold.ie/faq/how-to- spot-a-scam/ for more information.

“Threshold is increasingly aware of a surge of rental scams, particularly ahead of the academic period, with students unfortunately being easy targets. In a highly competitive, low supply rental market, scams are on the rise." said John-Mark McCafferty, the CEO of the housing charity.

“It’s important that students and all renters nationwide are aware of such scams and take the appropriate actions to prevent themselves from falling into these traps.

"To avoid rental scams, it is key that renters take precautions, such as requesting a written agreement of rental terms and conditions and usiing a secure payment method - and not cash in hand - after the contract has been signed and witnessed in the presence of the other party.

"Never rush headlong into anything – scammers do apply pressure, which is one of the telltale signs. We strongly encourage any student or renter who is unsure if they are being scammed to contact our advisors for free advice and support.”