New official data has shown for the first time that new tenants are paying significantly more in rent than tenants with existing tenancies.
According to information released by the Residential Tenancies Board, the nationally consolidated average rent for existing rent between April and June this year was €1,332.
This compares to €1,574 for the new rent, a difference of 18.2%.
The data also shows that rents paid by existing tenants are rising at a slower pace than those faced by new tenants.
Existing rental rents rose only 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year, and 1.1% compared to the previous three months.
However, new rental rents rose by a record 11.6% between April and June, compared to the same three months last year, while they rose by 5.2% compared to the first quarter of this year.
Comparison of new and existing lettings was made possible by the introduction of the requirement to register rents on an annual basis last year, meaning that rents for existing tenancies as well as new tenancies are now being recorded for the first time.
Niall Byrne, director of RTB, said: “Producing an index that can track rental developments across all tenancies across the private rental sector is a big step forward.”
“Information is now available to current tenants that was not available in previous Rental Index reports.”
“RTB, in cooperation with ESRI, is committed to publishing and further developing new rental indices and existing rental indices.”
“Over time, these indicators will provide robust evidence and deeper insights into the private rental sector for the benefit of policymakers and the public.”
He added that the additional new data will help RTB fulfill its obligations to ensure compliance and enforcement of rental rules.
As a result of continued rent increases, the Government has designated the local electoral area of Shannon and the administrative area of Westmeath County Council as Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) from today onwards.
This limits rent increases in affected areas to 2% per year by law.
The data indicates that 10,673 new rentals were recorded in the second quarter of the year, down from 16,155 during the same quarter last year.
In Dublin, the consolidated average monthly rent for a new rental rose 10% year-on-year to €2,102, compared to €1,225 outside the capital, where it rose 11.7%.
In the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) excluding Dublin itself, the consolidated average rent for a new rental was €1,525, an increase of 11.5% on the same period in 2022, while outside the GDA, it was €1,167, an increase of 11%.
County Dublin saw the highest average monthly rent during the quarter at €2,102, while County Leitrim had the lowest average monthly rent at €879.
Year on year, the lowest consolidated average rent growth in new lettings over this period was in Laois and Waterford, where new letting rents grew by 8.3% and was highest in Longford, at 27.4%.
Twenty counties had annual growth in new rental rentals above 10%.
35,888 existing lease contracts were renewed during the three-month period.
The consolidated average monthly rent for these renovations in Dublin was €1,767, up 5.5% year-on-year, while outside Dublin it was €1,018, up 4.7%.
In the DCA area excluding Dublin, it was €1,288, having risen by 2.6% over the year, while outside the DCD area it was €973, up 5.4%.
Nationally, 26.8% of new rental rents exceeded €2,000, compared to 13.5% of existing rental rents.
Sinn Féin’s Piers Doherty told leaders’ questions in the Dáil that the government did not care about tenants.
He said that the housing crisis is worsening for renters and the government must now ban rent increases.
In response, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said increasing housing supply must be the solution.
He said housing is the major social issue facing the country.
Martin said banning rent increases would reduce the supply of homes, and rents would rise further. He said Sinn Fein’s policy would make matters worse.
Doherty described the Tánaiste’s comments as “delusional”.
Sinn Féin’s Piers Doherty said the government did not care about tenants and the average rent was now €1,600. The Tánaiste said that increasing the supply of housing must be the solution and that work is underway to achieve this https://t.co/s7vMR2tKhm pic.twitter.com/gd1ExaSvNA
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 30, 2023
Martin also accused Social Democratic Party leader Holly Cairns of offering “precious little” in terms of solutions to the housing crisis.
Ms Cairns told the Dáil that the Government had overseen continuous rent increases since taking office and accused them of gaslighting the nation by trying to tell people that “this failure is success”.
She said landlords were ignoring rent cap rules, and called for a three-year freeze on rent increases, the reintroduction of a ban on no-fault evictions, and the creation of a rent registry to ensure there is transparency around rents.
However, Martin said a rent freeze would reduce housing supply and actually lead to further rent increases.
Housing charity Threshold said it was worrying to see the huge difference in average rents for new rentals compared to existing ones.
She said a rent increase can impact the difficult choices a person may face in affording daily living costs.
The organization added that the report does not provide data on non-compliance with rent controls, but based on the figures, some landlords are likely to seize the opportunity to increase rents on rent turnover, whether legally permitted. or not.
As a result, it called for the establishment of a private rental registry that would provide accurate information on the affordability of homes in the private rental sector.