The average cost of renting an apartment in Dublin has jumped 10.5% in the past year.

The latest index from the Private Residential Tenancies Board and the ESRI shows a continuing trend of rising rents in the capital.

That could spell an increase of almost €100 a month for some apartment dwellers.

The rest of the country remains broadly unchanged.

Director of the PRTB, Annemarie Caulfield says that the demand for apartment rentals in Dublin is also far greater than the demand for houses:

Overall, rents in Dublin grew by 7.6% over the year, but outside Dublin rents continued to fall by 0.9%.

The difficulty first time buyers have in accessing mortgages, and a lack of a supply in the housing market, are behind rising rental costs in Dublin.

In many areas outside Dublin, rents are slightly down, except for Cork and Galway, which saw modest increases.

Annemarie Caulfield explains the effect the lack of supply is causing: