Rent on new tenancies jump by over 20% in Cavan

Cavan was amongst the counties to experience the greatest hikes in rents for new tenancies in the country, according to the latest figures.

The Q1 2022 Rent Index report shows that new rents jumped by 21% in the first quarter of 2022, as compared to the same period in 2021. Leitrim (22.4%), Roscommon (21.7%) and Carlow (21.7%) were the only other counties in the Republic to breach the 20% threshold for rent increase recorded in January to March 2022.

The official figures are published by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and show that the standardised average rent in new tenancies Q1 2022 in Cavan was €905.01. That's up from €771.20 in Q4 2021 (an increase of 17.4%); and up from €747.66 from Q1 2021.

Independently analysed by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), the RTB Rent Index is based on the total number of private tenancies newly registered with RTB each quarter. The Index is not designed to provide a measure of the rents being paid by existing tenants.

National Rental Trends

Nationally, the Q1 2022 Rent Index shows that the standardised average rent in newly registered tenancies was €1,460 per month, which is an increase of €46 compared to Q4 2021, which stood at €1,414. The quarterly growth rate represents a 3.3% increase. On a yearly basis, rents in these newly registered tenancies increased by 9.2%, which is higher than the yearly growth rate last quarter which was 8.5%.

In Q1 2022, the standardised average rent in new tenancies for houses in Ireland stood at €1,447 per month, which is an increase of 4.2% on Q4 2021 and a rise of 10.0% year-on-year. The standardised average rent in new tenancies for apartments stood at €1,498 per month in Q1 2022, which is an increase of 2.8% on Q4 2021, and an increase of 9.1% on Q1 2021.

County Developments

The highest standardised average rent in new tenancies for Q1 2022 was in Dublin at €2,015 per month while the lowest monthly rents were in Leitrim, where the standardised average rent in new tenancies stood at €734 per month.

Fourteen counties have standardised average rents in new tenancies above €1,000 per month in Q1 2022: Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.

The lowest yearly growth in the standardised average rent for new tenancies in Q1 2022 was in Wicklow where rents grew by 1.3%.

Constraints

Commenting on the release of the Index Niall Byrne, RTB Director said: “The latest Rent Index, which is based on new tenancies registered with the RTB in the first quarter of 2022, shows continued growth in rents nationally with a yearly increase of 9.2%. We also see a continued fall in the number of tenancies that were registered with the RTB in Q1 2022. These results are likely still indirectly impacted by COVID-19 public health measures along with constraints in supply and tenants choosing to stay longer in their existing tenancies. In reading the Index, it is also important to note that these results only provide us with a snapshot into a small proportion of the private rental sector in Ireland.”