Rents in Galway city are the second highest in the State, according to a the Residential Tenancies Board Ireland’s rent index for the third quarter of 2018, which has just been published.
The report shows the average annual rent increase across the State was 7.5 per cent. It also revealed that rents are now averaging at €1,187, an annual increase of 1.3 per cent.
Reacting to the report, Sinn Féin Galway City East councillor Mairéad Farrell said a new cost rental model for the State, along with a rent freeze, must be “rolled out to provide an alternative for those struggling with market rents”. She is also calling for rent pressure zone legislation to be “urgently reviewed”.
“Sinn Féin want a three year rent freeze on existing tenancies and any new tenancies should be capped at the RTB’s standardised rent index by county or LEA,” she said. “We would also introduce a temporary refundable rent relief for all renters to help ease affordability pressures. This measure would give one month’s rent back to tenants annually.”
While the RTB report showed the rate of rental increase is slowing, Cllr Farrell said this is “cold comfort to tenants looking for somewhere to live or struggling to hold on to an increasingly expensive tenancy.”
