New rents increased by an average of 9.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year, as the number of new tenancies dropped by almost a third, according to the latest figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
The rental market watchdog’s quarterly price index of new tenancies, published on Tuesday, put the national standardised average rent at €1,460, with average rents ranging from €2,015 a month in Dublin to €734 in Leitrim.
The index, which is analysed independently by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), is based on new tenancies and does not measure the rents being paid by existing tenants.
There was a drop in the number of new tenancies registered in the first quarter at 10,414, which is 32 per cent lower than the 15,291 registrations in the same quarter of the previous year.
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According to the index, the standardised average new rent for houses in Ireland stood at €1,447 per month in the first quarter, which is an increase of 4.2 per cent on quarter four of 2021 and a 10 per cent rise year on year.
For apartments, the average rent for new tenancies was €1,498, up 2.8 per cent when compared with the previous quarter, and an annual increase of 9.1 per cent.
The average rent varied geographically, standing at €2,015 in Dublin and €1,127 outside of the capital.
In Dublin, 36.6 per cent of rents for new tenancies were over €2,000 and another 39.9 per cent were between €1,501 and €2,000.
The lowest monthly rents were in Leitrim, where the standardised average rent in new tenancies was €734 per month. However, the county recorded the fastest growing annual rent with a 22.4 per cent rise year on year.
The lowest yearly growth in the standardised average rent for new tenancies was in Wicklow where rents grew by 1.3 per cent. Twelve counties had a yearly growth rate in new tenancy rents above 10 per cent.
Fourteen counties have standardised average rents in new tenancies above €1,000 per month in the first quarter: Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.
Niall Byrne, director of the RTB, said the latest index showed continued growth in rents nationally, and a continued fall in the number of tenancies registered with the board.
“These results are likely still indirectly impacted by Covid-19 public health measures along with constraints in supply and tenants choosing to stay longer in their existing tenancies,” he said.
“In reading the index, it is also important to note that these results only provide us with a snapshot into a small proportion of the private rental sector in Ireland.”
Mr Byrne reminded landlords that annual registration was introduced on April 4th, which requires them to register tenancies on a yearly basis, and which he said would provide “greater visibility” on rents.
“This will mean that the RTB will be better able to provide new insights and information to tenants, landlords and the wider public while also helping inform the development of residential rental sector policy.”
Housing charity Threshold said tenants were at breaking point due to rental inflation.
Ann-Marie O’Reilly, policy officer at the charity, said pressures being felt by renters would be fully alleviated only by increased supply, but said there were short-term measures that could be taken, such as the recent Housing Assistance Payment (Hap) limit increase.
“The Government has an opportunity in the upcoming budget to intervene, in a targeted manner, in the sector to provide breathing space for people. Budget 2023 must be a cost-of-living budget and a renter’s budget.”
