'Limited' accommodation supply sees rents increase by 8.2%

The latest RTB rent index report showed average rents for new tenancies have risen to €1,464 per month.

The number of new tenancies registered in the second quarter of 2022 showed a fall of 16%, while the average rent is now 8.2% higher due to a “limited supply” of rental accommodation, according to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

The latest rent index report from the RTB showed average rents for new tenancies increased by €9 compared to the first three months of this year, coming up to €1,464 per month, while the RTB recorded an increase of 8.2% when compared with the second quarter of 2021.

Rents for new tenancies in Dublin averaged €2,011 per month while outside Dublin, rents averaged €1,130 per month.

There were 12,701 private tenancies registered with the RTB in the second quarter of this year, down from 15,048 during the same period last year (16%).

Dublin, and the Greater Dublin Area, accounted for over half (54.2%) of all new tenancy agreements registered, while 59.5% of new tenancies registered were for apartments.

Donegal accounted for the lowest average rent in Q2 at €783 per month while Cork, Limerick, and Waterford were among 14 counties to have an average rent above €1,000.

Lowest yearly growth

Meanwhile, the lowest yearly growth was recorded in Wicklow, where rents fell by 2%.

This was followed by Kildare, where rents fell by 1.1%, while 14 counties had a yearly growth rate in new tenancy rents above 10% in the second quarter of 2022.

Leitrim saw a 20% year-on-year growth, the fastest-growing average rent in new tenancies in Q2 2022.

RTB director Niall Byrne said the report shows that the national rent has continued to rise, while the number of newly-registered tenancies continues to decrease.

“These results are likely due to a mixture of factors, including the continued limited supply of rental accommodation," he said. "It is important to state that these results are for new tenancies only and therefore these insights relate to only a small part of the private rental sector in Ireland."

Mr Byrne said the RTB’s data analysis and reporting capabilities will improve “significantly” due to the introduction of annual registration in April this year and the RTB’s new tenancy-registration system in November 2021.

He acknowledged that the new registration system has created “difficulties” for some landlords and agents and said the RTB is working hard to address these.

As we move towards the completion of this first cycle of annual registration in April next year, we remain confident that annual registration will provide the RTB with much greater visibility on rents for both existing and new tenancies.

Mr Byrne said the expanded data will allow the RTB to provide new insights and improved information to tenants, landlords, and the wider public during 2023, while also providing enhanced data to inform the development of policy for the residential rental sector.