Over the last 12 months, rent in Monivea has skyrocketed by almost 60 per cent. In early 2015, average monthly rent in the area was €568, but the last year has seen a 57 per cent increase, with prices now peaking at more than €894 per month.
Over the course of a year, or 12 month lease, that represents an additional €3,912 that a tenant must pay to a landlord. This is not an isolated incident, however, as rent across the nation has been surging.
On average, monthly rent prices have grown by 8.6 per cent, but areas within driving distances of major cities have soared well above average.
“The ongoing increases in the level of rents across the country are being driven primarily by a lack of supply,” said Rosalind Carroll, director of the Residential Tenancies Board, the body in charge of the study.
The cost of renting a two-bed apartment and a three-bed semi-detached home have proved most costly, with both types of accommodation seeing the biggest hike in prices.
Galway prices
Alongside Monivea, Moycullen experienced an average increase of 17 per cent, which equates to an extra €110 per month.
Claregalway was not far behind after seeing a 10 per cent jump in monthly rates.
Galway tenants tend to pay the highest prices in Woodquay, with average rent of more than €1,000.
Mervue, Headford, and Barna, follow accordingly with prices remaining upwards of €950.
Although places such as Bohermore and Ballybrit witnessed less than five per cent increases, renting properties in these areas remains upward of €815 despite the small percentile increases.
Galway city saw a €60 increase in the 12 months of 2015, but no suburb showed signs of decreasing prices.
The rise in rent across the county has been attributed to commuting times and housing demands, with tenants wanting to live within the city centre boundaries for work and college.
Rent Freeze
In November 2015, Minister Alan Kelly introduced legislation which prevents landlords from reviewing rent increases for a period of 24 months, and while the premise of the act is just, it could also be to blame for certain spikes in the market, suggests Enda McGuane, managing director at Winters Property Management, Galway.
“We tend to see an eight per cent increase year on year, but in the last 12 months, it was an average of 10 per cent,” he said.
This is due to rent being set in January 2015, and remaining static until at least January 2017.
Ms Carroll, director at RTB, noted that “tenants are staying longer in their properties.”
McGuane also highlighted that the construction of new houses is not necessarily the answer, saying, “We need to build for specific needs.”
He said that more needed to be done in terms of student accommodation, and with approximately 28,000 incoming leaving certificate students being accepted into NUI Galway, they will need a place to stay.
“This year is the least amount of properties that we have ever had,” said McGuane, which is a worrying prospect with CAO offers being released in mid-August.
As for Monivea, McGuane believed that it was a once-off, with houses which typically would not be for rent, being made available for lettings.
