A “dramatic fall off” in rental properties has sent the cost of renting a home in Dublin soaring, figures released by Daft.ie have revealed.  

Rents in the capital were 14.3% higher in the third quarter of 2022 than those in 2021; meaning the average property costs €2,258 to rent per month - a figure 120% more than when the market bottomed out in 2011. 

On 1st November there were only 345 live rental ads on Daft.ie - something it described as “by far the lowest on record for this time of year” and it is this shortage of supply that the organisation says has sent prices surging. 

“The root causes of these record increases in open market rents is ultimately the lack of availability, a lack of supply,” report author Ronan Lyons told Newstalk. 

“When you look at the number of homes on the open market at any particular point in time, it was going down consistently anyway over the last decade and that was a sign that new rental homes needed to be built. 

“COVID put a bit of a pause on that reopening almost two years ago now, early 2021, there’s been a dramatic fall off in the availability in rental accommodation.” 

Over 100 people queue to view a house available for rent in Dublin.

Economist Ronan Lyons of Trinity College said that the best hope for renters is that changes to the Build-To-Rent planning classification will lead to more supply in the future. 

“The Build-To-Rent system had helped generate a pipeline of tens of thousands of new rental homes that are now coming on stream and represent the best hope for alleviating the chronic shortages in the rental market,” he said. 

“If the BTR system is to go, policymakers must have a clear plan on how tens of thousands of new rental homes will be delivered this decade in all major towns and cities.”

Dáil motion

Today, Dáil Éireann will debate a Sinn Féin motion calling on the Government to declare a housing emergency. 

“We need an emergency ban on rent increases and we need a real refundable tax credit that will put a month’s rent back in every renters’ pockets,” Eoin Ó Broin TD told Newstalk. 

“In terms of homelessness, we need the Government to double the number of housing first tenancies to start bringing down the unacceptably high levels of single person homelessness. 

“And we need a much more aggressive attitude by Government and councils to purchasing private rental properties.” 

W6P670 Aerial drone view of Dublin houses

Speaking at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis this weekend, Minister Simon Harris defended the Government’s record on housing. 

"Planning permissions are up, home completions are up, mortgage draw-downs are up", he said.

"I think these are real solutions for people on the ground."

Main image: Young people in new apartment blocks in the dockland area of central Dublin, Republic of Ireland.