The problem shows no signs of abating in the near future.
Over half of Dublin's rental properties are listed as listed as available to tourists, rather than long-term tenants, a new report has found.
The increase has been attributed to the rise of AirBnB in the capital.
Published by property blog, Daft.ie, the report found that landlords are favouring tourists, with this being made evident by the fact that 53% of Dublin homes available to rent on (15 May) were not on offer to long-term tenants.
In total, 1,258 long-term rental properties were available in Dublin on Daft.ie on 15 May. However, homes to let on AirBnB from professional listers came to 1,419.
Based on its findings, the blog speculated that the decline in long-term rental accommodation will not let up for the foreseeable future.
Commenting on the results of the study, Eamonn Fallon, co-founder of Daft.ie said:
"Action urgently needs to be taken to increase supply, both in Dublin and nationwide. The country needs close to 50,000 homes a year to cater to underlying housing demand – both market and social.
"Of the 50,000 homes, 15,000 are needed for the rental market with 10,000 of those in the capital. To put the scale of this challenge into concrete terms, Dublin alone needs an apartment block of 200 units to open every week for at least the next decade.”
Martin Clancy from Daft.ie added to this, by saying: "Rents have been rising as supply continues to bottom out nationwide. Despite a cap of 4% on sitting tenants, rental inflation has been above 10% nationwide and shows no sign of abating without a sharp increase in supply."
In response, a spokesperson for AirBnB criticised the report, saying: "This report uses inaccurate scraped data to make misleading assumptions about our community.
"Entire home listings on Airbnb in Dublin last year represented just 1.1% of the available housing stock in the city, and the vast majority (88 percent) of hosts share the home in which they live.
"The Airbnb model is unique and empowers regular people and boosts local communities, generating over €506 million in economic activity in Ireland last year. We have put forward suggestions to government for clear and fair home sharing rules for listings in Dublin, to help ensure that home sharing continues to grow responsibly and sustainably."
