The number of high-end apartments being built in Dublin is pushing up rents, the Social Democrats have said.
A report by the Residential Tenancies Board found that new rents had risen by 9.2% in Q1. It is the largest annual increase since the final quarter of 2017 when costs grew by 9.6%
In Dublin, the average rent is now €2,015 per month, up €164 on last year, and €1,127 outside of Dublin, up €91. The national average rent is €1,460.
Cian O’Callaghan, the Social Democrats’ TD and housing spokesman, said too many high-end rental apartments were coming to the market, particularly build-to-rent units in cities, instead of affordable and cost rental apartments.
He added that tax incentives and exemptions that benefit providers of high-end apartments should be abolished and granted to the not-for-profit sector instead.
“That would be the norm in most Northern European countries. They don’t give such high taxpayer subsidies or incentives to very expensive housing delivery, instead they do all of that towards affordable delivery. If we did the same as that, we could start to make headway on this,” he said.
Eoin Ó Broin, the Sinn Féin housing spokesperson, said rent pressure zones – which cap increases at 2% per year – should apply to “all counties, all tenancies and all rental stock”.
