A new report also reveals the standardised average rent in each county in Ireland.
The Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) of Navan in County Meath and Limerick City East will be designated Rent Pressure Zones, according to the latest report by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
Following designation as Rent Pressure Zones, rent increases in these areas will be limited to a maximum rent increase of 4% per annum.
Director of the Residential Tenancies Board, Rosalind Carroll, said: “These are the first Rent Pressure Zones to be designated since September 2017. This is important for landlords and tenants as it means that rents in these Local Electoral Areas will be limited to rises of a maximum of 4% annually.
“This should help moderate rents in these areas. We would encourage both landlords and tenants to contact us for more information on their rights and obligations and we will be rolling out a targeted information campaign in these areas over the coming weeks.”
The RTB Rent Index, compiled in conjunction with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), is the authoritative guide to the Irish rental market. It is based on actual rents paid on 17,830 tenancies registered with the RTB in the quarter.
The RTB Q4 2018 Rent Index shows that quarter on quarter rents fell by 0.3% nationally. This marks the first quarter since Q1 2017 that the standardised average rent has fallen relative to the previous quarter.
The study also shows that while, annually, national rent increased by 6.9% to €1,134 in Q4 2018, an increase of €73 from Q4 2017, the national standardised rent fell.
The average rent for Dublin was €1,650 – this represents an increase of €120 from Q4 2017. However, the standard average rent in the capital was slightly lower in quarter 4 when compared to quarter 3, going from €1663 to €1650.
Elsewhere in country, the second highest standardised average rents in Q4 2018 were in Cork City at €1,095 per month. Galway City standardised average rents stood at €1,064 for Q4 2018, rents in Limerick City were €929 and rents in Waterford City were €682.
As far as Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow are concerned, the standardised average rent for the greater Dublin area (excluding the capital) stood at €1,167 up from €1,108 the previous year.
As for the rest of the country, the standardised average rent stood at €833 in Q4 2018, up from €789 the previous year.
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