THE STANDARDISED NATIONAL average rent is now almost €1,100 per month.

In April to June 2018 (Q2), the standardised national average rent was €1,094 per month, according to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

That’s up from €1,017 one year earlier. Nationally, rents grew at 7.6% annually in Q2 2018, particularly in and around urban centres, which represents an increase from 6.9% in Q1 2018.

The rental price inflation increased in Q2 2018 to 3.4%, up from 2.7% in Q2 2017. This follows a period of more moderate growth on a quarterly basis. The figures are included in the RTB’s Quarter 2 2018 Rent Index report which was published today.

The report is produced in conjunction with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and is based on 18,716 new tenancies registered with the RTB in the same quarter.

The report contains new data, for the first time, on rental trends in existing and new tenancies along with analysis on trends in the composition of the market.

Existing tenancies shows year-on-year growth of 4.9%, compared with 8.4% in new tenancies. Tenancies in the Greater Dublin Area account for over half of all tenancy agreements in the country.

In terms of the number of occupants, one or two occupants were in the majority of properties. Since Q4 2017, a slight decline in the shares of properties occupied by three or more people can be observed.

Rent index results for Dublin: 

• The annualised new rent increase nationally is +7.6%, with Dublin the highest single region (+8.8%)
• Dublin city rents have accelerated by 9.5% on an annualised basis in Q2 2018; this is driven by growth of rents for apartments, which on an annual basis grew by 9.1%, whereas houses grew by 6.4%
• As of Q2 2018, the standardised average rent for Dublin stood at €1,587, representing an increase of €128 on average monthly rent over a 12-month period
• Comparing across the different cities presented, rents are highest in Dublin city and stood at €1,549 as of Q2 2018; it is unsurprising that Dublin city rents are highest given the concentration of employment and population in the capital city
• This compares to standardised average rents for Dublin as a whole of €1,587; the higher rents outside the city boundary may reflect the mix of property types in the two sub markets as well as the exclusion of the high price rental areas in south county Dublin

Outside Dublin

• The standardised average rent for outside the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) stood at €817, up from €768 year-on-year; the annual growth rate for outside the GDA is 6.3%, down from 6.5% in Q1 2018
• Second highest rents in Q2 2018 were in Cork city at €1,123 per month; Galway city standardised average rents stood at €1,065; rents in Limerick city were €880 and rents in Waterford city were €646
• Cork city’s year-on-year change was 6.2% compared to Dublin city at 9.5% and Limerick at 12.4%
• On an annualised basis, rents in Limerick city have been growing most rapidly, at 12.4%, in Q2 2018
• In the GDA (Kildare, Wicklow, Meath) the annual rate of growth is down from 6.3% in Q1 2018 to 5.5% in Q2 2018; the standardised average rent for the GDA now stands at €1118, up from €1101 in Q1
• In the GDA the largest share of rents corresponds to the €500-€1000 category, and only 3% are above €1500; this compares to Dublin where nearly half of rents are over €1500

Rent pressure zones 

Commenting on the 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.

Responding to the index, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said quarterly trends “can be volatile, but they do continue to rise and this continues to be a challenge”.

People are paying too much in rent and this has to be better controlled.

Murphy said he will soon introduce new rent protection measures in the Dáil.

“I’ll also continue to pursue measures to see longer leases and tenant protections when properties are sold. And of course homesharing will be tackled in the very near future. All of these new measures will help us move closer to a more stable and more mature rental sector.”

Murphy said, however, that some positive trends are developing and “shouldn’t be ignored”.

“Rents for existing tenants seem to be in line with RPZs. One in five tenancies are for longer than four years, and one in four new tenancies agreed in the last quarter was for longer than 12 months. All of this is pointing to greater stability for tenants but there is still a way to go.”