The cost of renting in new tenancies in Dublin is nearly double that of renting outside of the county.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) rent index measures rental price developments faced by those taking up new tenancies in the private rental sector.

In its latest quarterly Rent Index report, based on rents paid on 9,346 private tenancies newly registered with the RTB during the fourth quarter of 2021, it was revealed that the cost of rent in new tenancies has risen by nine per cent nationally.

The number of registered tenancies has fallen by 48 per cent in comparison to last year’s report. RTB Director Niall Byrne cited constraints on the supply of rental properties for the fall in numbers.

In the final quarter of 2021, rents for new tenancies in Dublin were 1,972 euro per month, compared to 1,104 euro per month outside Dublin. The difference in rent in a new tenancy in Dublin and in Leitrim, the cheapest place to rent in Ireland, is 1,232 euro per month.

According to the report, average rent in new tenancies for houses in Ireland was 1,390 euro – nine per cent higher from the previous year. The standardised average rent in an apartment was 1,459 euro, an increase of 9.3 per cent from the same period in 2020.

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