Rents in Dublin are now back at early 2009 levels, putting a squeeze on renters due to another strong year of growth in the capital that saw rents rise by 7.6 per cent. Across the country however, the cost of renting a home continues to slide.

According to the latest Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB)/ESRI Rent Index, which is based on 302,000 tenancies registered with the board, rents rose by 3.3 per cent nationally in 2013, with growth in apartment rents (up 5.2 per cent ) outpacing rents for houses (up 1.6 per cent).

In Dublin, the survey shows that rents have now been on an upwards trajectory since the third quarter of 2011, jumping by 14.3 per cent off the bottom and putting rents back at early 2009 levels. Rents for Dublin apartments rose by 8 per cent in 2013, while rents on houses rose by 6.4 per cent over the same period.

In the fourth quarter, Dublin rents grew by 2.1 per cent, with rents for houses up by 0.8 per cent, and rent for apartments up by 3.1 per cent in Q4 alone. This means that the cost of renting an apartment in Dublin rose on average by €32 a month from the third to the fourth quarter of the year.

However, the market outside the capital was more subdued, with rents up by 1.1 per cent on an annual basis and down by 0.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Anne Marie Caulfield, director of the PRTB, said that the index continues to reflect “a story of strong rent rises in the Dublin region, while the ‘outside Dublin’ market remains much more subdued”.

On a quarterly basis, rents for houses outside Dublin recorded a decline of 2 per cent from Q3 to Q4, but the index for apartment rents outside Dublin, however, recorded a quarterly increase of 1.6 per cent in Q4.

There are parts of the country where rents are also rising, particularly in the commuter belt surrounding Dublin. In Naas, Co Kildare, for example, rents rose by 2 per cent from 2012 to 2013, perhaps buoyed by the creation of 900 jobs by Kerry Group in the area.

Looking at the monetary level of rents, the average national rent for a house in Q4 in 2013 was €744; in Dublin, it averaged €1,168 and outside Dublin it was €608. The average apartment rent across the country in Q4 of 2013 was €844; in Dublin, it averaged €1,070, while outside Dublin it was €630.