Rental sector at ‘crisis point’, with rising prices ‘inevitable’ as demand outstrips supply

Ireland’s rental sector is at “crisis point”, with almost half of those seeking rental accommodation searching for more than two months, according to new research by the Knight Frank estate agency.

Sixty-eight per cent of people surveyed over three months in 2022 said they spent more than a month searching for accommodation, of which 47 per cent were searching for more than two months. That marks a jump of 8 per cent compared with 2021.

The largest group of people seeking a rental in Dublin are searching from within the county; an increase in international respondents looking for accommodation was noted over the past three years.

Recent data shows private investors are leaving the market and properties being sold are not being replaced. The report says this will add further pressure to the rental market and limit the choices available to renters.

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The sector is at crisis point due to the gap between demand and supply and upward pressure on rent costs is inevitable, it says.

Although figures show families still prefer to rent houses, there has been a shift; 65 per cent of mature families (defined as older parents with dependent or non-dependent children) and 52 per cent of young families (defined as younger parents with dependent children) preferred to rent a house in 2022, compared with 84 per cent and 73 per cent in 2021.

Affordability concerns and record low levels of family homes available to rent could account for the change, the report states.

Unsurprisingly, the residential-occupier study finds couples, those house-sharing and single people strongly prefer to rent apartments in cities and close to transport links and employment centres.