Monthly rent hits record levels amid 'chronic shortage' of new homes in Ireland
The national average rent in Ireland has now surpassed €2,000 for the first time ever
The average monthly rent is now €2,023 nationally, meaning that there has now been 13 straight years of rising rents, the Daft.ie National Rental Index has revealed.
The figures in this latest report confirm that countrywide, market rents rose by an average of 3.4% between December and March. This is the joint-second largest increase in market rents (after 2022 Q3) on record in two decades.
As the pipeline of new rental homes in Dublin dries up, upward pressure on rents in the capital has resumed, with an increase of 2.4% in the first quarter, the largest since 2022. Also, between December and March, market rents rose in 52 of the 54 distinct markets analysed in each Daft.ie Rental Report.
Along with this, the upward pressure on open-market rents reflects incredibly poor availability, with just over 2,300 homes being available to rent as of May 1. This is down 14% year-on-year and the third-worst May figure in the last two decades.
The analysis of recent trends in the Irish residential rental market for the first quarter of 2025 also revealed that rents rose nationally by 7.3% compared to the previous year.
The county with the largest year-on-year change was Limerick City with a 20.4% increase, where the average monthly rent has now risen to €2,405.
It was also found through the report that the most expensive places to rent in Ireland are:
- South County Dublin (€2,794 a month)
- South Dublin City (€2,620)
- North Dublin City (€2,497)
- Dublin City Centre (€2,470)
The least expensive places to rent on Daft.ie are:
- Donegal (€1,231 a month)
- Leitrim (€1,234)
- Monaghan (€1,340)
- Mayo (€1,376)
Author of the report, Ronan Lyons, a Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin, said, "It is imperative that the new government avoid the trap fallen into by the last one in thinking that the only determinant of new homes built is the budget given to housing. The government is not just the funder, it is also the referee.
"A long-overdue reform of the Rent Pressure Zones is apparently imminent. Aligning the system here with standard practice in other places with rent controls ‐ in particular by allowing for rents to reset when tenants leave but also by reviewing the limit on increases allowed ‐ will benefit tenants in the long-run, as a new pipeline of supply will emerge.
"The longer it takes to get to that new system, however, the longer we will have to read about chronic shortages of rental homes and sharp increases in market rents," he concluded.