Data shows increase in private rental tenancies registered with the RTB in Cork

There were over 25,000 private rental tenancies and more than 5,000 tenancies with Approved Housing Bodies in Cork in the first three months of the year, according to new data from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

The RTB has released a new ‘Profile of the Register’ data series, providing information on all private and AHB tenancies registered with the RTB which shows 5,151 AHB tenancies and 25,041 private tenancies in Cork in Q1 2024.

The ‘Profile of the Register’ provides more accurate and in-depth information than previously available on the Irish rental sector following improvements made to the RTB’s registration processes.

The system improvements and enhanced validation processes mean that this new data series is not directly comparable to tenancy figures published for periods prior to Q2 2023, but Cork’s overall figure of 25,041 private tenancies is an increase from 24,458 in Q4 2023, 24,012 in Q3 2023, and 23,548 in Q2 2023.

The data shows that, of the private tenancies, 14,138 of these are in Cork City Council and 10,903 in Cork County Council.

This marks an increase from 13,798 and 10,660 at the end of 2023 and since Q2 2023, private tenancies have increased by 5.3% in Cork City, and 7.7% in Cork county.

The RTB’s new data set also provides a breakdown by local electoral areas.

It shows 2,371 private rental tenancies in Cork City North East, 2,315 in North West, 4,383 in South Central, 2,521 in South East, and 2,548 in South West.

There are 1,344 in Bandon Kinsale, 706 in Bantry, 1,080 in Carrigaline, 1,116 in Cobh, 1,116 in Fermoy, 724 in Kanturk, 782 in Macroom, 1,101 in Mallow, 1,727 in Midleton, and 1,207 in Skibbereen.

Nationally, private and AHB tenancies registered with the RTB have increased for every quarter in the new series, by 7.9%, and the number of landlords associated with private tenancies registered with the RTB has risen from 96,702 in Q2 2023 to 103,035 in Q1 2024.

The proportion of private tenancies associated with landlords who own 100+ tenancies has also increased from 9.5% of private tenancies in Q2 2023 to 11.17% in Q1 2024 nationally.