Investors are moving back into the market, but finding an affordable place to rent can still be a struggle, writes Laura Slattery

In recent years, the words "rental accommodation" and "crisis" have often been found in the same sentence. Sometimes they are closely followed by stories of people camping outside newsagents for the first edition of the Evening Herald, setting permanently engaged contact numbers on redial and scanning A-Z street maps of Dublin - all in the name of beating the competition to that one-bedroom hovel with no central heating and mysterious stains on the carpet.

But this year the reintroduction of mortgage interest relief for rental accommodation and the abolition of 9 per cent stamp duty on second-hand rental properties has brought the investor back into the market, increasing supply. Meanwhile, average rents for apartments and suburban houses have either decreased or stalled, depending on the location.

Average rents for two-bedroom Dublin apartments listed on the accommodation website Daft.ie decreased from €1,408 in January to €1,240 in July.

Prices have fallen by about €200 a month for a two-bedroom apartment on the southside of Dublin, according to Ms Orla Hennessy of Gunne Residential. "Because of the slowdown in the economy, landlords know they can't afford to go any higher," she says.

You could be forgiven then for thinking this year's apartment-hunters and wannabe house-sharers had it easy. But most of the softening in the sector has taken place in the top end of the market.

"Rents are still very expensive in Dublin," confirms Ms Mary McGarry Murphy, business development manager at Wyse Property Management. Corporate lettings may be down by 15 per cent but the rents on one-bedroom apartments and house-sharing are comparatively stable, she says.

Anywhere along a Dart line or bus route will still command high rents, Ms Hennessy notes.

Searching for a place to rent in Dublin is as difficult as ever if you're on a tight budget. "In terms of the low end, tenants are still looking at a 10 per cent year-on-year increase," says Mr Russell Chapman of housing advice body Threshold.

People on low incomes find themselves priced out of much of the Dublin market and the words "professionals only" in letting advertisements tell students not to even bother picking up the phone.

"I've heard students say they went to see a place only for the landlord to say they weren't interested in renting to them," says Mr Eamonn Fallon, business development director for Daft.ie, where students represent about 10 per cent of site traffic.

"For students it's tough, because they're not the pick of the bunch for landlords," agrees Mr John Kennedy, managing director of another accommodation site, Findahome.ie.

Landlords are reluctant to take on students for a nine-month lease unless they are also prepared to go through the inconvenience of short-term let for the summer months. Most students will instead take a 12-month lease where they can find it.

Findahome.ie started out as a way to pool and update accommodation lists for third-level institutions but is now expanding into the general rental sector, with letting agencies from Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Kilkenny inputting their listings onto the system. From September, landlords will be able to advertise directly on a new site, let.ie, for around €25.

"It's a separate market. Professionals wouldn't want to be mixed up with a bedsit," Mr Kennedy says. There are still cases of 10 people queuing outside the door to see a place, he adds, and professionals will always be the first group of people to be satisfied.

With new security-of-tenure legislation due to come into force next year, landlords may also be a bit more careful in their choice of tenant. Under the legislation, recommended by the Commission on the Private Rented Residential Sector, a tenant who has successfully served a six-month introductory period will be entitled to a further 3½-year lease.

The legislation has prompted Daft.ie to introduce a tenant database and screening service for landlords, says Mr Fallon.

The screening will consist of credit, work-history and police-report checks and will cost landlords €50.

For tenants, an e-mail alerts service will be launched, making it easier for people who are searching for somewhere to live and holding down a full-time job at the same time.

September is the "big rush" month for rental accommodation, the time when people on low budgets are most likely to run into brick walls as they try to secure an affordable roof over their heads. "There is more supply than there was last year," notes Mr Kennedy. "But that wouldn't be hard."