RTB warns of ‘significant concern’ as average rents for new tenancies up 5.5%

Corporate landlords now hold 14% of market as rent hikes top 10% in multiple counties. Picture: Denis Minihane.

New rents have risen sharply in eight counties, with average new rentals nationwide now €244 higher per month than existing tenancies, according to the latest figures from Ireland’s rental regulator.

Meanwhile, corporate landlords — those with over 100 tenancies each — now control just under 14% of all rentals in Ireland, as the market shrinks slightly for smaller landlords.

The latest quarterly update from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for the three months to the end of March 2025 shows that the average rate for a new tenancy nationwide was €1,696 — up 5.5% year-on-year – compared with €1,452 for existing rentals.

However, the rate of increase varies significantly across the country. New tenancies in Dublin were just 3.3% higher than a year ago, but eight other counties — Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Kildare, Laois, Roscommon, Monaghan, and Donegal — recorded growth of more than 10% each, a trend RTB director Rosemary Steen described as a “significant concern.”

Five of those counties — Donegal, Kerry, Laois, Monaghan, and Tipperary — have reported high new tenancy rates for eight consecutive quarters, which the RTB said it hopes to address through “education initiatives” in those areas.

Notices of termination also remained high in the three months to the end of June, with 4,728 issued — up 17.2% annually. The RTB said that 2,698, or 57.3%, were due to landlords wishing to sell their properties.

Rachel Slaymaker, research officer with the Economic and Social Research Institute, noted that the eight counties with steep rent increases were largely excluded from rent pressure zone (RPZ) legislation at the time the data was compiled.

The entire country came under RPZ rules last June, meaning landlords can only raise rents by a maximum of 2% annually.

Ms Steen stressed the importance of educating landlords in counties with steep increases so they “understand their obligations” and comply voluntarily, rather than requiring RTB enforcement.

“It’s a national requirement, and we intend overseeing that extremely diligently,” she said.

While the number of corporate landlords is growing nationwide, the number of approved housing body (AHB) tenancies — not-for-profit rentals with long-term security — also rose significantly, reaching 52,989 by the end of June, up 11.7% annually.