Almost 30 per cent of new tenancy rents across Ireland were more than €2,000 per month in the third quarter of last year, while in Dublin more than half of new tenancies were in excess of this figure, according to the latest official statistics.
On Thursday, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) published its latest rental index for quarter three 2023, which showed a continued rise in rent for both new and existing tenancies.
On an annualised basis, rents in new tenancies grew by 11 per cent during this time, down from 11.5 per cent in the previous quarter.
The national standardised average rent in new tenancies stood at €1,598 – an increase of €26 per month compared with the previous quarter (€1,572) and an increase of €158 compared with the same time in the previous year (€1,440).
The national standardised average rent for existing tenancies (of at least one year in duration) stood at €1,357 per month, €240 per month lower than for new tenancies.
In percentage terms, new tenancy rents were 17.7 per cent higher than existing tenancy rents over that three-month period. However, there is “quite a bit of variation” between counties.
“At the higher end, we would see the gap in Donegal would be 39 per cent, which would be a very large difference there. €987 for new tenancies standardised average rents, compared to €708 for existing tenants,” said Rachel Slaymaker, of the Economic and Social Research Institute.
“Similarly Wexford, a gap of €328 between new tenants and existing tenants. That’s a gap of about 38 per cent. The smallest gap is actually found in Kildare . . . that’s a difference of about 13.5 per cent.”
Ms Slaymaker said these larger gaps tend to be seen “outside the more mature markets” with “different explanations for different parts of the country”.
“If you take the case of Wexford, particularly since the pandemic, we’ve certainly seen quite strong growth in new tenancy rental prices. There is potential for post-pandemic effects there in terms of work patterns and more working from home could be playing a part,” she said.
The annualised rental inflation for new tenancies remained high in the third quarter, with rents growing strongly across the country but particularly outside of the Greater Dublin Area.
In contrast, rents for existing or ongoing tenancies grew by less than half the rate observed for new tenancies on an annual basis and indeed by less than the Consumer Price Index over the same period.
Nationally, 29.5 per cent of new tenancy rents were more than €2,000, compared with 15.5 per cent of rents for existing tenancies in the third quarter.
A further 13.6 per cent of new tenancies and 5.4 per cent of existing tenancies had a monthly rent level in excess of €2,500.
In Dublin, 50.5 per cent of new tenancies paid more than €2,000, compared with 30.8 per cent of existing tenancies.
The RTB said the existing tenancy rent index cannot be used to measure compliance by landlords with rent-pressure zone (RPZ) price increase caps as it also includes properties outside of RPZs.
Lucia Crimin, deputy director of the RTB, said: “The RTB is responsible for ensuring there is compliance by landlords with their legal obligations including registering tenancies and setting rent amounts correctly.”
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