A day searching the Irish rental market: What’s on offer?

From luxury city-centre apartments well out of the majority of renters’ price range, down to bunk beds and apartments with bedrooms in the kitchen, what was available during a one-day search of the rental market? Jack Power conducted his search on Monday, December 20th.

One-bed properties

Looking for a one-bed property in Dublin, there were 286 available properties that fit that bill advertised on Daft.ie.

At the top price range were “serviced apartments” in Grand Canal Dock priced at €4,100 per month, which includes weekly cleaning, fresh towels and linen, and 24/7 maintenance support.

There were only six one-bed properties to rent for less than €1,000 a month, the cheapest was a €600 a month property in Fortunestown, Citywest, followed by a €750 a month apartment in Glasnevin.

Renters just waiting ‘for disaster to strike... it’s the vulnerability’ – Belfast tenant

---

Number ‘trapped’ in direct provision due to rental crisis increases by 60%

---

Ballymore submits planning application for phase 2 of its Dublin Arch scheme

---

Tetrarch calls on Fingal councillors to back land rezoning at Howth Estate

---

Sometimes an affordable price will catch the eye, such as €500 for a modern studio apartment in Inchicore, however, on a closer look the price was listed as rent per week, rather than the per month cost.

For those looking for a room in a shared home, cheaper options of €400 a month were commonly owner-occupied, to live with the landlord. While more mid-range rentals for a room in a house or apartment were between €600-€700 a month.

For a single person or couple in Cork, a large room in a house with three others was available for €1,300 a month in Wilton, just outside of the city. A little different to Dublin prices, the cheapest single rooms in a shared house were priced at about €400 a month.

Prices in Galway city were cheaper, with a double room in a house in Salthill for €850, sharing the home with one other tenant. The lowest price on offer was €320 for a room in a shared house in Ballybrit, on the outskirts of the city.

Three-bed properties

There were 166 three-bed properties in Dublin city for rent on Daft.ie, 57 in north Dublin and 109 in south Dublin.

In north Dublin this included €4,000 a month luxury apartments in the Docklands, to semi-detached homes for about €2,500 a month, with an €1,800 a month home in Kilbarrack the lowest price available.

South Dublin three-bed rentals ranged from a top end of €7,000 per month homes in Ballsbridge, to a middle price range of about €3,000 a month, with €1,700 the lowest for a home in Ballycullen.

While prices came down outside of Dublin, so did the number of properties available on the market. There were 18 three-bed homes in Galway for rent, 44 in Cork, seven in Waterford and four in Limerick on the day in question.

Social media

Some rental properties are advertised on social media groups, rather than letting websites, with different Facebook groups specific to students, immigrants and teachers looking for housing, each with several thousand members.

In social media groups commonly used by immigrants to find cheaper accommodation, lettings are advertised in Spanish. In many cases there will be no signed lease, with rent paid in cash and sublets common.

A post in one group, mostly used by immigrants coming to Dublin from South America, advertised a bunk in a bunk bed in a small room on Mountjoy Square for €275 a month.

Another post offered an "affordable" studio for a couple in Drumcondra for €850 a month. The bedroom, kitchen and living room are all in the one room, with a tiny separate bathroom just wide enough to fit in a toilet.

On Instagram, a similar page advertising Dublin rental vacancies offered a single bed in a shared room on Parnell Street, with two existing tenants for €400 a month.