AVERAGE RENT FOR new tenancies in Ireland have risen by almost 9% since last year, new figures show. 

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has today published the Q1 2023 Rent Index report. 

The purpose of the rent index is to measure rental price developments faced by those taking up new tenancies in the private rental sector. It’s important to note that it’s not designed to provide a measure of the rents being paid by existing tenants. 

Nationally, the standardised average rent in newly registered tenancies was €1,544 per month in the first quarter of the year. This is a year-on-year increase of 8.9%. 

In Q1 2023, the standardised average rent in new tenancies in houses nationally stood at €1,522 per month, a 9.2% year-on-year increase. The standardised average rent in new tenancies for apartments stood at €1,586 per month, an increase of 8.8% year-on-year. 

In the first quarter of 2023, the level of standardised average rents in new tenancies in Dublin stood at €2,102 per month compared to €1,187 per month outside Dublin.

Standardised average rent in new tenancies in Cork City stood at €1,490 per month in Q1 2023, €381 per month higher than for Cork County at €1,109.

The highest standardised average rent in new tenancies for Q1 2023 were in Dublin at €2,102 per month, while the lowest monthly rents were in Leitrim where the standardised average stood at €809 per month.

Sixteen counties had standardised average rents in new tenancies above €1,000 per month in the first quarter of the year. These were: Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.

The term ‘new tenancies’ includes new tenancies in existing rental properties, new tenancies in new rental stock never let before, and new tenancies in properties that have not been let in the immediate two years prior to the tenancy.