Average rent for new tenancies climbs above €1,500 for first time

Dublin had the highest average rent for new rentals at €2,063 per month, with Galway the next highest among the cities at €1,524 followed by Cork at an average of €1,450 per month. File photo

The national average rent for new tenancies has risen above €1,500 for the first time, according to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

Its Q4 2022 Rent Index shows a 7.6% hike in rents compared to the same quarter 12 months earlier. The findings have been described as “further evidence that rents in Ireland are out of control” by Social Democrat housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan and “alarming” by housing charity Threshold.

The index shows 16 counties with average rents above €1,000 for new tenancies, with 13 reporting growth of over 10%. Longford reported the largest increase of 18.5% year-on-year growth in the price of new rentals.

“These increases indicate that renters in urban and non-urban areas are facing extreme challenges in the housing crisis,” the housing charity said.

The latest Rent Index, in conjunction with the ESRI, is based on actual rents being paid by the 15,686 private tenancies registered with the RTB in the last three months of 2022. The RTB stressed that its data is based on new tenancies only, and is “not designed to provide a measure of the rents being paid by existing tenants”.

It said: “The data for the fourth quarter of 2022 shows strong growth nationally in the rental prices of newly registered tenancies. After a rapid increase in the pace of rental inflation for new tenancies throughout 2021, inflation rates levelled off in 2022, yet remain high.

“During the period covered by this report, the broader Irish economy continued to perform resiliently, but with significant cost-of-living challenges and interest rate rises, there was a moderation in the pace of growth of the Irish economy.” 

The RTB pointed out that the numbers of newly registered tenancies are low in many counties with traditionally smaller rental markets and, as such, this may lead to volatility in annual inflation rates in these counties.

Dublin had the highest average rent for new rentals at €2,063 per month, with Galway the next highest among the cities at €1,524 followed by Cork at an average of €1,450 per month.

Rent Pressure Zones

Threshold said the rise in the price of new tenancies in the cities shows a need for the public to be equipped with the knowledge to challenge unlawful rent increases.

"These increases are all above the 2% yearly increase permitted in Rent Pressure Zones, showing that a greater enforcement of RPZ rules is necessary to protect renters in an already challenging financial environment," it added.

While a fifth of tenancies registered in the country in the last three months of 2022 were in excess of €2,000, just 2.3% were for less than €500 and 28% below €1,000.

Mr O’Callaghan said it is “no wonder” that homeownership rates are falling and people are being trapped in a rental market where it is next to impossible to save for a deposit.

“Rents in Dublin are now rising at multiples of the 2% Rent Pressure Zone cap,” he said. “The current opaque system is allowing renters to get ripped off every time they move home. A rent register would bring some much-needed transparency to the Irish rental market.”