Rent rise not ‘a shock’
A housing charity has said the 12% rise in rents in Cork city has come as no surprise and expect it to rise again.
New figures released on Tuesday from Daft.ie said rents in Munster rose 9.4% year on year, reflecting very low availability with 209 homes available to rent on 1 November. This is up slightly on a year ago but very low compared to the last decade, Daft has said.
In Cork city, rents have risen by 12.1% in the past year and the average rent is now €1,708. In the rest of Cork, market rents were on average 7.3% higher in the third quarter of 2022 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €1,305, up 119% from its lowest point.
Speaking about the new report, Edel Conlon, the Southern Regional Manager for Threshold said: “The 12% increase has not come as a shock at all. We have seen huge increases in the area of Cork in the last number of years. Its not nice to read the average rent in Cork city being €1,708 and, in the county, €1,305 as these are unaffordable rents for so many people. You can really see the pressure people are going to be under.
“I expect it to increase a lot within the next year. I just can’t see how there’s going to be a huge increase of supply in the near future.”
The Daft Rental Price Report stated that in all of Munster there is just 209 rental properties available.
“There is such a competition for property now. That’s the first battle, then its to pay the rent that is being asked. “I’ve seen a huge shift in the people who are contacting us for support. It’s everyone in the private rental sector that needs our support.
“There is a real threat of homelessness now. It’s really important that people get the correct information and advice because anywhere from 50-60% of the notices of termination that come to us are actually invalid and people don’t have to leave.”
The Daft report said there were 1,087 homes available to rent nationwide on 1 November, down one-quarter on the same date a year ago and roughly a quarter of the average level of availability during 2015-2019.
Edel continued: “We are not going to get a lot of social housing built in the next 6 months. It’s going to take years to see any real impact on supply of housing so I do think an extension of rent pressure zones will need to happen in order to stop these climbing rents.
“I don’t see any real improvement in the near future, but I would like to see more investment in organisations like ourselves in order to prevent homelessness. Prevention is better than cure.
“We can’t prevent every household from having to vacate their property, but we can prevent a hell of a lot with the knowledge and skills that our team have.”
Threshold’s helpline is open Monday-Friday 9am-9pm on 1800-454454 and webchat is available at Threshold.ie.