A family who have recently moved to County Cavan has said it is “virtually impossible” to find an affordable rental property in Dublin where they were previously living. 

This month, there were just over 2,300 properties available to rent across the country on Daft.ie - a figure which is 14% lower than the same period last year and that is the third lowest total for May for 20-years.  

In Dublin there were 1,450 houses or apartments available to rent and that’s a 7% drop on the same date last year. 

Roger Berkeley, who runs Berkeley & Associates in Ballyfermot in Dublin, said the current rental market for tenants is the worst he has ever seen. 

 “It’s gotten more difficult in recent years for tenants,” he said. 

“There’s still a severe shortage of new homes being built - it’s got chronic”. 

He also said small landlords are continuing to flee the market. 

“We are finding that there is hardly a month goes by without some landlord saying, ‘I’ve had enough of this, it is not worth my while.’” 

Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Mary, who recently moved to Cavan with her husband and daughter when her landlord sold up, said it is almost impossible to find somewhere to rent in Dublin. 

“Our landlord sold up and the only available and affordable house we could find was in County Cavan,” she said. 

“My husband now has to spend three hours driving to and from work every day”. 

“We are still searching for somewhere to live in Dublin but it is extremely difficult. 

“We have viewed up 25 properties to date and at every house or apartment we have viewed there has been queues down the street just to view. 

“It’s also virtually impossible to find somewhere in the capital for under two grand”. 

Houses. Picture by: Alamy.com.

According to Daft.ie, rents nationally increased by 3.4% between January and March this year, rising above €2,000 a month for the first time.  

This is the largest increase in any three month period in the last 20 years and is 48% higher than just before the outbreak of the pandemic.  

Dublin has the highest average rent in the country at €2,450 - a 6% increase over the course of a year. 

Newstalk Chief Reporter Barry Whyte said there is a discrepancy in rental costs between new tenancies and existing tenancies. 

“The average rent for an existing tenancy would be a bit lower - around €1,500 nationally and just over €1,800 in Dublin on average,” he said. 

“This is one of the reasons many small landlords are calling for rent pressure zones to be lifted”. 

Barry added that a lot of small landlords believe now is the time to get out, given the price of second hand properties. 

“If you are a small landlord and you are seeing second hand homes in the likes of Drimnagh and Crumlin selling for half a million euro, well then you might think now is the time to make hay when the sun shines,” he said.

Main image: Houses in Dublin's north inner city. Picture by: Alamy.com.