Property website Daft.ie reports that rents are now above what they were during the Celtic Tiger years.
Their study found that the average monthly rent nationwide is at its highest level on record, with rents rising nationwide by an average of 3.9% in the second quarter of this year. That is the largest three-month increase in rents since early 2007.
In Dublin, the annual rate of inflation in rents was 11.1%, the highest level since 2014. Rents in the capital are now 5.2% higher than their previous peak in early 2008. The highest rate of inflation was in Cork city, where rents rose by 18% in 12 months.
Rents in Galway are 13.9% higher than a year previously, while rents in Limerick have risen 15.5% in the past year. There were just over 3,600 properties available to rent nationwide on 1 August this year, compared to 11,000 in August 2012. This clearly shows that the nub of the problem is an acute shortage of suitable housing.
The problem is not just confined to the major urban areas. Some of the biggest increases can be seen in Midlands counties such as Westmeath and Laois which have motorway access to cities where job opportunities exist. Landlord representatives would point to the tax system as the reason why many landlords who are repaying mortgages no longer find it viable to remain in the rental market