Students will face even greater difficulties in finding accommodation this year because of recent changes in the private rental sector, it has been claimed. The Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) has said amendments to rental laws which came into force in March have seen the pool of rental properties available to students decline further. There were 7,062 notices of termination in the first quarter of 2026, a 50 per cent increase on the year before. A notice of termination is given by a landlord looking to end a tenancy. The increase in evictions was widely blamed on new rental laws, with many landlords selling their properties rather than be locked into six-year tenancy agreements. The IPOA, which represents individual landlords and larger property investors, said Central Applications Office (CAO) offers for college placements on Wednesday should be a time of excitement for those going into third level.Instead, the continued loss of rental properties will make it more difficult for students during the coming academic year, it argued. A failure to provide sufficient new supply, it said, is creating an environment in which students have “fewer legitimate options and are increasingly under pressure to secure accommodation as quickly as possible”. The association’s chairwoman, Mary Conway, said the Government’s own National Student Accommodation Strategy acknowledged Ireland’s deficit of approximately 15,000 student beds. It estimated about 42,000 additional beds will be required by 2035.“The reality is that there simply is not enough accommodation available. Students are competing for a limited pool of properties, and that problem has been allowed to develop over many years while the supply of private rental accommodation has continued to come under pressure,” she said. The IPOA said Government must urgently address policies which it believes are contributing to landlords leaving the private rental sector and reducing the availability of long-term rental accommodation.“Government cannot continue to make it more difficult and less attractive to provide long-term rental accommodation. Every time a rental property is lost from the market, the number of legitimate options available to somebody looking for accommodation becomes smaller,” it said. “We need to see an urgent change of direction. Government needs to make retaining landlords in the private rental market a priority, while also accelerating the delivery of new student accommodation and new rental homes.”The Department of Housing has been asked for comment. The IPOA warned that the scarcity of accommodation was creating fertile ground for rental scams, with students and their families potentially more vulnerable to fraudulent listings as they compete for a limited number of properties.Gardaí have warned students to beware of accommodation scams as they begin their third-level year. The August-October period was the “peak season” for such scams, according to Det Insp Alan Govern of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, who said there had been “notable spikes” during these months in the last two years. This year, to the end of July, the Garda has received 230 reports of accommodation scams, involving losses to victims worth a total of €400,000. The most common involves property that does not exist or property that does but is not available for rent. Victims are asked to pay a deposit or a holding fee and, once the payment is made, the offender is gone, with no further contact.He urged students to do their research on accommodation by checking the property is registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). The Department of Housing has been approached for comment.