Rental prices increased throughout 2016 at their fastest annual pace since the website Daft.ie started compiling statistics on the rental market in 2002.
Average rents nationwide rose by 13.5% in the year to December, according to the latest report from the property website.
At €1,111, the average monthly rent nationwide is at a new high, the third successive quarter with a record high according to daft.ie.
The annual rate of rental inflation in Dublin is running ahead of the national figure at 14.5%.
The average monthly rent in the capital, at over €1,650, is now almost €200 higher than the last peak in early 2008, despite the subsequent property crash and a sustained period of low inflation in the interim.
The Simon Communities has described the figures as extremely worrying.
It is calling for rent certainty measures and enhanced security of tenure to bring stability to the market.
The national spokesperson for the Simon Communities of Ireland has said she is very concerned by the figures.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Niamh Randall said it was clear that intervention was needed.
There was an urgent need, she said, to monitor the effect of the rent pressure zones to see if the measures were effective. If they are not, she said, then action must be taken immediately.
Ms Randall said that targeted interventions to help vulnerable households, such as measures to support single people and those who have previously experienced homelessness, are needed to help people stay in their homes.
These should be put in place, she said, in addition to ensuring rent supplements and Housing Assistance Payment limits are reviewed and adjusted on a regular basis in order to keep them in line with market rents.
She added that they need to look at ways to encourage people with additional properties to lease them back to the state, such as compulsory leasing orders.
Article – www.rte.ie
