Report shows rents increasing at fastest rate since 2007
A new report has shown that rents have increased significantly ahead of the introduction of rent controls.
The Daft.ie survey shows that rents went up by 3.2% between July and September - the largest quarterly increase since the peak in 2007.
Tenants are now paying an extra €82 compared to the same time last year, with the national average at €964, an increase of 9.3%.
Supply is at its tightest level on record with just over 4,000 properties available to rent on November 1.
Rents are 13.5% higher than a year ago in Cork and 12.2% higher in Galway.
Limerick and Waterford have seen rent inflation rates of 11.4% and 9.6% respectively.
Economist with Daft, Ronan Lyons, believes landlords raised their prices when they heard new rent controls were on the way.
He said: "If you put yourself in the shoes of a landlord, say, in July or August, and there's talk of rent control, you're thinking to yourself: 'Well, in 12 months' time am I going to be able to change the rent or is there going to be some limit on how much I can increase? Perhaps I'll try and get more rent initially, on Day One'."
Lyons said that it appear rents have gone up in response to the announcement of rent controls by the Government.
"While it's still early days, it does look like rents since the Cabinet announcement have been about 1.5% higher than the earlier parts," he said.
"There was no effect of the leak per-se, but there does seem to have been an effect of the Cabinet measure.
"We won't know for certain obviously until the next report comes along, but they're the early indications."
