SITTING TENANTS ARE paying 15.2% cheaper rent prices compared to new tenants entering the private market, even if both parties are renting similar properties types.

New data from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published today has found that sitting tenants are paying, on average, €214 less per month than new tenants in the private market.

The institute says the findings likely reflect the rapid rental inflation in new tenancies observed in more rural and less traditional rental markets. Additionally, the study notes that these areas are less likely to have a higher tenancy turn over.

The author of the research, Dr Rachel Slaymaker, told The Journal that while some of the prices that new tenants face could reflect the premium costs of recent developments, the research still aims to find the difference in prices for the two cohorts.

“With almost one-fifth of Irish households renting from a private landlord these data are crucial for understanding the sector as a whole,” Slaymaker said while publishing the research.

The research found that similar properties in Dublin have a tighter gap, of just over 13%, the rest of the country (not including the greater Dublin area) actually has a higher difference of 17.3%.

In keeping with the trends seen in the more rural end of the private market, the largest gaps between the rents are found in the north-west, west and parts of the midlands.

Slaymaker said identifying “particular pressure points” in the current housing market can be done so by observing the large differences between existing and new tenancy rents found in the report.

For example, larger properties were also noted as having greater gaps in prices between the two groups.

The findings say that larger properties notably have bigger differences in cities; Waterford, Limerick and Galway.

However, this is not the case in counties such as Kerry, Westmeath and Mayo – where the gaps between the prices are highest for one-bedroom properties.

The research could indicate that there is a “particular shortage” of smaller properties relative to demand in these counties.

On the whole, the research found that this type of accommodation – smaller, one bedroom properties – have become much more common among new renters entering the market and make up a higher share of the property pool.

Separately, larger accommodation types, such as three bedroom tenancies, make up a lower portion of new tenancies compared to existing ones.

“This indicates that smaller properties and those in more urban areas turn over more frequently and are therefore over-represented in new tenancy measures relative to their share in the market as a whole,” the ESRI said today.

The research was conducted on tenancies registered between April-September 2022 and was funded by the Residential Tenancies Board. Existing tenants were considered as those living in the same property for over a year.