23 September 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
The average rent for all dwellings in the private rented sector in Co. Cork in Quarter 2, 2015, and which were registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was €794. This was up €11 when compared to the average rent in Q1, 2015, when the amount was €783, and was up €44 when compared to a year earlier, in Q2 2014.
This data comes from the latest PRTB Quarterly Rent Index which is compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for the Board. It is the most accurate and authoritative rent report of its kind on the private accommodation sector in Ireland. This is because it is based on the actual rents being paid, according to the PRTB’s records, as distinct from the asking or advertised rent.
If people are interested in looking at the rent that applied for different dwelling types (house, apartment, number of bedrooms), and for different locations, in the county, they can check this out at www.prtb.ie (click “rent index”), and go the Average Rents in my Area (Dataset).
Monthly rents for private sector accommodation across the country rose 7.1% in the second quarter of (Q2) of this year compared with the same period last year. Nationally, rents for houses were 6.4% higher, while apartment rents were 7.6% higher than in Q2 of 2014.
Annual growth in the Dublin market was stronger, up by 9.2%. Dublin house rents were up 8.8% and Dublin apartment rents were higher by 9.4%. Annual growth in rents for the market outside Dublin remains more subdued, recording growth of 5.8% when compared to Q2 of 2014. Again the performance differs by property type. The rent for houses outside Dublin increased by 5.8%, while apartments outside Dublin experienced an increase of 5.9%.
In monetary terms, the rent for private sector accommodation across the whole country in Q2, 2015, was €878 – up from €820 in Q2 2014. The rent for apartments nationally was €922 (€857 a year earlier) and for a house it was €853 (€801 a year earlier). In Dublin, the rent in Q2, 2015, was €1,387 for a house and €1,260 for an apartment. A year earlier, Q2, 2014, the rent for a house was €1,275, and for an apartment it was €1,152. This represents a monthly increase in Dublin rent of €112 for a house and €108 for an apartment over the course of the 12 month period.
Outside Dublin, the rent in Q2, 2015, was €677, with houses averaging €695 and apartments €660. A year earlier, these figures stood at €640, €656 and €623 respectively. This represents a monthly increase in rent outside of Dublin of €39 for a house and €37 for an apartment in the 12 month period.
All landlords are legally obliged to register tenancies with the PRTB and the number of new registrations with the PRTB in Q2, 2015, was 21,606. The overall number of tenancies registered with the PRTB as at the end of Q2, 2015, was 322,662.
The PRTB Index is of assistance for a range of Government purposes, including housing policy generally, and informing the Department of Social Protection’s Rent Supplement scheme. It is also an important reference document in landlord/tenant disputes on rent. It was developed in consultation and co-operation with landlord representative groups such as the Irish Property Owners Association, irishlandlord.com, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland, and tenant representative groups such as Threshold and USI (Union of Students in Ireland).
