The most recent rental report from the real estate website Daft.ie reveals that rents being sought on the open market in the last three months of 2022 were 13.7% higher than those during the same time last year.
The average rent was 126% higher at €1,733 per month at the end of 2022 compared to the low of €765 in late 2011.
The increase over the third quarter of last year was of the order of 2.7%.
An inadequate supply of rental properties is the main factor causing rent inflation.
The report refers to the private rental market as being “chronically starved” of homes, a situation which it says shows no signs of abating.
Nationwide, there were just 1,096 homes available to rent on February 1, down over 20% on the same date a year ago.
All parts of the country are experiencing substantial year-on-year open market rent increases, albeit with regional differences, the report shows.
Throughout 2022, the rate of inflation in Dublin was 13.1% while in Cork City it was 14.9% bringing average rents in each city to €2,324 and €1,768 respectively.
In Limerick, the rate of rental inflation registered at 18.9% and Waterford City, it was just over 20%.
Outside the cities, the average annual increase in market rents was 13.6% bringing the average rent outside of the main cities to €1,318.
Ronan Lyons, associate professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report, said: “The figures in this latest Daft.ie Report confirm, once again, the chronic shortage of rental housing in all parts of the Irish market. The extraordinary collapse in availability over the past two years has brought about record increases in open market rents.
“New rental supply is the only real solution to a shortage of rental homes. Housing has established itself as the dominant political issue in recent years. While much of the policy effort is focused on homeownership, a variety of demographic trends, including delayed family formation and increased longevity, have contributed to a growing diversity in living arrangements.”