The students' union at UCD has issued over 80,000 leaflets to south Dublin householders, appealing to them to provide student accommodation for the coming term.
The move comes a week before the Leaving Cert results are issued, when the accommodation crisis for students is expected to become drastic.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said urgent action was needed to deal with the problems this year and in the future.
Mr John Paul Swaine, USI's welfare officer, said the most effective solution would be for the Government to invest in on-campus accommodation.
The president of UCD's students' union, Mr Aonghus Hourihane, said the number of rental properties in former "student heartlands" like Rathmines and Ranelagh had dropped dramatically, forcing students into over-priced areas of Dublin.
The leaflets were circulated in Dublin 4, 6, 14, 16 and Blackrock areas. Householders with spare rooms can fill in a postcard and return it to the students' union, who will offer it to students.
Commenting on the rental situation, Mr Swaine said the Government's reaction had been to introduce a tax relief measure for student accommodation. Up to 7,500 units are currently in various stages of planning.
"However, even after the construction of these units, Ireland will still be far behind other European countries in terms of the proportion of students in on-campus accommodation," he said.
He called for:
Direct Government provision of purpose-built student housing to bring the Republic up to the EU average;
A minimum "bill of rights" for students in on-campus accommodation.