Rents in Cork county rise by almost 15% in 12 month period, report states 

Cork county has seen a higher growth rate in rents for new tenancies than Cork city over a 12-month period, at almost 15% compared with around 10%.

These findings were published yesterday in the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) Q1 2024 Rent Index.

According to the report, Cork county saw a higher year-on-year growth rate at 14.8% in rents for new tenancies than Cork city at 9.9%.

The standardised average rent in new tenancies in Cork city stood at €1,578 per month in Q1 2024, €360 higher than that for Cork county at €1,218.

The Rent Index is based on RTB tenancy registration data that is independently analysed by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

The figures published compare the standardised average rent for all new and existing tenancies registered in the first four months of the year, with a similar but not identical sample of all tenancies registered in the previous quarter and in Q1 2023.

Nationally, the report stated that standardised average rent grew by 8.1% for new tenancies.

Rents for existing tenancies rose by 5.9% nationally since last year, showing that people in existing tenancies pay lower rents than those in new tenancies. The city with the lowest annual growth rate in existing tenancy rents was Cork city at 3.1%.

New tenancies include new builds and properties not rented for two years that are not subject to Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) rules.

Senior research officer with the RTB, Brian Gallwey, described the RTB’s quarterly Rent Index as “the most comprehensive and accurate source of data on rent levels in Ireland’s private rental sector”.

“By using RTB registration data to track changes in rent on a quarterly basis, we can see that although rent levels for new tenancies continued to increase nationally by 8.1% in Q1 2024, this has moderated from a high of 11.3% seen in Q2 2023, and it is also down from the 9.1% observed in Q4 2023.”

In Cork, Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould said the 14.8% and 10% growth rate in rents for new tenancies in the county and city “spell really bad news” for those hoping to access the private rental sector. The Cork North Central TD said “new ideas” are needed to tackle rising rents, adding:

“A Sinn Féin government would freeze rents for three years to enact emergency measures urgently. We would give renters a month’s rent back in their pockets.”