Revealed: The cost of new rent in every county in Ireland

/ 26th July 2022 /

The cost of new rent nationally increased by 9.2% year-on-year in the first quarter, with the national standardised average rent in new tenancies standing at €1,460 at the end of March, according to the latest Residential Tenancies Board rent index.

Rents for new tenancies in Dublin were €2,015 per month, nearly €900 more than the average for counties outside the capital of €1,127, rising to €1,472 in the greater Dublin area and falling to €1,081 outside the commuter belt.

The study, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), is based on the total number of new tenancies registered with the RTB during the quarter, including new tenancies in existing rental properties, properties being let for the first time, and new tenancies in properties that have not been let in the previous two years.

A total of 10,414 private tenancies were newly registered with the RTB in Q1, a decrease of 32% from the same period in 2021, while Dublin and the greater Dublin area accounted for 61% of them, up from 56.5% year-on-year.

Year-on-year price increases in rents for new tenancies were lowest at 5.9% in the greater Dublin area and highest at 9.5% outside the greater Dublin area. Year-on-year increases in rents for new tenancies was 8.9% for Dublin.

The standardised average rent in new tenancies for houses in Q1 2022 was highest at €2,260 per month in Dublin and lowest at €1,113 per month outside the commuter belt.

The standardised average rent in new tenancies for apartments in Q1 2022 was highest at €1,975 per month in Dublin and lowest at €1,054 per month outside the greater Dublin area.

The lowest annual growth rates across the regions, for both houses and apartments, were recorded in the commuter belt, at 8.2% and 3.7%, respectively.

Cost of new rent
county — Rents for new tenancies increased 9.2% year-on-year in Q1. (Pic: Getty Images)

Leitrim was the county with the lowest average rent for new tenants at €734. Conversely, Leitrim experience the fastest growth in the cost of rent for new tenants at 22.4% year-on-year, and 12 countries had annual growth in new tenancy rents above 10% in Q1 2022.

Overall, 14 counties now have rents in excess of €1,000 per month for new tenancies: Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow, which had the slowest rate of annual growth in rent for new tenancies (1.3%).

"These results are likely still indirectly impacted by Covid-19 public health measures along with constraints in supply and tenants choosing to stay longer in their existing tenancies," said Niall Byrne, director of the RTB.

"In reading the Index, it is also important to note that these results only provide us with a snapshot into a small proportion of the private rental sector in Ireland.”