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Cash-strapped students are being hit with massive fines for tiny mistakes as a top university retained over €100,000 in deposits.

In one shocking case, two friends were slapped with a €300 penalty for letting a friend stay over after his house burned down, leaving him homeless.

Charlotte Blackmore, 20, and her roommate Megan Heffernan couldn’t believe what was happening when they received the fine.

Charlotte explained: “Megan’s boyfriend was living in Donnybrook and his house had just burned down. Where was he supposed to go?

“He lives in Sligo and had nowhere to stay. So he stayed here and he was caught.

“They kicked him out of the apartment and had to walk over an hour in the freezing cold to where his brother was staying.

“What makes it worse is that he’s a UCD student as well.

“Students don’t have loads of cash to be splashing around. This money means a lot to us.”

Every person who stays in residence at UCD has to pay a €350 deposit.

Fines are then deducted from this cash, leaving hundreds of students penniless following the academic year.

These girls aren’t the only ones to be hit with ridiculous penalties.

Hundreds of students have gathered to vent their frustration at the system which is bleeding them dry.

The strange fines include leaving rooms unclean, leaving doors on the latch and forgetting room keys.

Concerns were also raised by the students’ union, who claimed security staff had accidentally filmed residents walking out of their rooms unclothed.

Security bring cameras into students’ homes to observe and record them when a disturbance is reported.

They are not allowed to enter private rooms but have caught out male and female students in their underwear.

The UCD students’ union also claimed they have less right on campus than they would have as private tenants.

And they also believe the acclaimed university has more ways of giving residents fines than any other third level institution in Ireland.

UCDSU president Micheal Gallagher said the students are fighting back after years of “unacceptable” behaviour.

He said: “We have a long and proud tradition of standing up for students’ rights.

“What is occurring on campus at the moment is unacceptable with students being made to feel that they are not residents but rather a nuisance to campus authorities.

“UCD has more ways of fining students living on campus than any other university in Ireland.

“This is indicative of the fact that they are looking to profiteer from students, students who are already struggling on a daily basis to afford to go to college in the first place.”