The cost of renting outside of Dublin is up significantly, as a new survey carried out for the Irish Independent finds major rises in provincial towns.

Highlighting how the current housing shortage is not just a major problem for the capital, figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) show more than 20% price increases in provincial towns year-on-year.

On average, the cost of renting a home grew by 8.6%.

It's now more expensive to rent a two-bedroom apartment and three-bedroom semi-detached house in most counties than it was a year ago, excluding Carlow, Sligo and parts of Tipperary.

Laois is the most expensive, Dublin aside, for renting those kind of properties.

The highest average increases for all property types were Meath (11%), Louth (10.8%) and Laois (10.4%).

The RTB's Rent Index, meanwhile, found that Sligo experienced the lowest increase, at 2.1%.

The cheapest place to rent a semi with three bedrooms is in Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon. It's up 2.4% to just €367 per month.

It is followed by Edgesworthstown in Longford (€422) and Tubbercurry in Sligo (€424).