Rents in Cork city up 7.9%, 10.4% rise in county

RENTS in Cork city have risen by 7.9% in the last year while in Cork county, rents showed an even higher increase of 10.4%.

The latest Daft.ie Rental Report shows further increases for renters in Cork, but has some hopeful signs that the prices will stabilise.

Across the country, rental inflation halved in 2023 compared to 2022 according to the report, which covers the final quarter of 2023 and reviews the year as a whole.

The decline in rental inflation is driven by Dublin, where rents in the open market rose by just 2.6% during 2023, compared to an average increase outside the capital of 10.6%.

Market rents in Munster were slightly above this average, rising 10.8% year-on-year, compared to an increase of 11.4% increase seen during 2022.

In Cork city, rents have risen by 7.9% in the last year and the average rent is now €1,907, while in the rest of Cork, market rents showed a higher increase of 10.4%.

The average listed rent in Cork county is now €1,466, up 41% from the level prevailing when the pandemic occurred.

The report also showed that the price to rent a single bedroom in Cork city centre was €633, and €719 for a double bedroom, while a room in the suburbs of Cork city was €591 for a single and €672 for a double, and a bedroom in Cork commuter towns was on average €576 or €655.

Nationally, the number of homes available to rent increased by 937 between October 2022 and December 2023, but of that increase, 80% was seen in the Dublin area.

“Once again we are seeing rents increase in Cork while rents nationally appear to stabilise somewhat, a lot of this is down to issues with availability,” Sinn Féin Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould told The Echo.

“Rent increases in Cork city and county are proof that Rent Pressure Zones have failed. These increases are happening on rents that are already sky-high and completely out of control.

“When the Government cruelly lifted the eviction ban last March, they gave a number of commitments — almost a year later, some of these still aren’t in place.

“It is time now for a ban on rent increases and a month’s rent back in renters’ pockets,” he said.

“We need to see solutions to the housing crisis that are credible, comprehensive, and ambitious.”