NEW figures have revealed that the national average rent is now at almost €1,100, showing an 8% rise since last year.
The figures released by the Residential Tenancies Board show that from April to June of this year, the standardised national average rent was €1,094 per month.
That’s up from €1,017 in 2017.
Nationally, rents grew at 7.6% annually in the second quarter of 2018, particularly in and around urban centres, which represents an increase from 6.9% in the first quarter of 2018.
The same report showed that average rent in Dublin is now €1,587, almost €500 more than the national average, and an increase of almost €130 since last year.
Average rent in the Greater Dublin Area, which includes Wicklow, Kildare and Meath, comes in at €1,118, with the average outside the GDA coming in at €817.
The second highest rents in quarter two of this year were in Cork city at €1,123 per month.
Galway city's standardised average rents stood at €1,065.
Rents in Limerick city were €880 while rents in Waterford city were €646.
The report suggests that national growth rates are being heavily influenced by Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, which account for under half of all tenancy agreements.
You can read the full report here.
Speaking about the latest figures, Rosalind Carroll, director of the RTB, said affordability “remains a significant issue in the rental market with continued economic and population growth contributing to rising demand”.
“We can see rents have continued to increase with growth rates back up in Dublin.”
Carroll said the fact that the rate of rental inflation year-on-year for existing tenancies was 4.9% just over half of the rate for new tenancies (8.4%) “shows that rent inflation in existing tenancies is more in line with what we would expect to see in Rent Pressure Zones”.
New lettings show a larger increase year-on-year, exemptions from RPZs will explain some of this. However, it is also clear that this market must continue to be monitored and it underscores the importance of the proposed legislation in this area.
Carroll said the new data will be important in assisting the RTB to “prepare for the new enforcement powers which it is hoped will be introduced before the end of the year”.
“This will allow the RTB to investigate and apply sanctions where there are contraventions to the rent restrictions in Rent Pressure Zones,” she said.
