Revealed: County by county rent increases with fewer than 1,400 properties available
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Fewer than 1,400 homes were available to rent at the beginning of February, with the shortage of homes countrywide pushing rent inflation to a two-year high.
That's according to the latest rental price report from Daft.ie, which found there were just 1,397 homes available to rent at the beginning of the month.
The property website said the figure was a new “all-time low” since it began its records in January 2006.
This scarcity is contributing to increasing market rents, which during the final months of 2021 were an average of 10.3% higher than during the same period in 2020, the report found.
With the average monthly rent now estimated to stand at €1,524, just 712 homes were available in Dublin to rent at the beginning of the month.
According to Daft.ie, this reflects a further tightening of supply and is less than one-quarter of the average availability seen for February over the last two decades.
Outside Dublin, there were just 685 homes to rent at the beginning of the month, less than a third of the availability seen pre-pandemic in February 2020.
The average rent in Cork City is now estimated to stand at €1,539, up 6.3% on the previous year. The report also puts the average rent in Limerick City at €1,407, up 10.3%, and €1,191, in Waterford City, up 11.3%. It also estimates that the average rent in Galway city is now €1,504, up 8.8%, and €2,056 in Dublin, up 8.9%.
The strong rebound in economic activity as public health restrictions relax has translated into strong demand for rental accommodation, according to Ronan Lyons, associate professor at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft report.
"Coming at a time of very weak rental supply, this has pushed rents up further, with inflation at its highest rate nationwide since early 2018.
"Even if the 1,700 homes due to become available in the first half of 2022 were added to the existing stock of rental ads, the number of homes available to rent in Dublin now would be below the level seen a year ago.
The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers said the latest report from Daft.ie does not "reflect the market in its entirety".
Given the very high demand for properties, many auctioneers no longer have the need to advertise properties on portals to secure rents, according to Pat Davitt, IPAV’s chief executive. “Most auctioneers have several potential clients for each property that becomes available,” he said.
Mr Davitt added he was seeking a breakdown of Residential Tenancies Board figures to reflect rents currently charged for all properties, not merely new rentals in each quarter, which is captured in the Daft. ie report.
A housing charity has said the report suggests a blatant disregard of the Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) legislation.
Despite Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Kildare, Meath and Louth being designated RPZs, Wednesday's report shows rents increased by between 6% and 11% in the past year.
Threshold, the national housing charity, found about half of the rent review notices brought to it in 2021 were invalid.
"Unfortunately, in some cases the tenant accepts the invalid notice for fear of being unable to find a new rental home. Threshold urges all private renters to get in touch when they receive a rent review to check the validity of the rent increase," said Threshold chief executive John-Mark McCafferty.
The charity said the unrelenting growth in rents over the past decade coupled with the increase in the cost of living was a significant cause of concern for people all over the country.
Close to one-in-10 private renters pay more than 60% of their earnings on rent, according to Threshold.
"These renters will always prioritise the money required to keep a roof over their head, meaning they may go without heat or be forced to cut back on other essential expenditure," said Mr McCafferty.
"The average national rent is almost double what it was 10 years ago. In the same period, average weekly earnings increased by only 22%."
Mr McCafferty said private renters were being left at the mercy of the market.