The Numbeo website has just revealed that out of 141 cities in Europe, Dublin’s rent prices have risen to the fourth highest, falling just behind London, which is ranked first, and Zurich and Geneva.
The average price for rent in Dublin in the third quarter of 2024 was between €2,294 and €2,704. FindQo.ie News mentions that the average price for renting a one-bedroom apartment is €1,800. Areas such as Dublin 1 or Dublin 2 are “among the most expensive”. It is reported that areas with easier access to public transportation, such as the Luas and DART, tend to have higher rental prices because.
The Residential Tenancy Board Rent Index has reported that housing prices have risen over the last year by 8 per cent. FindQo.ie News states that this can be attributed to “various factors”, which include a growing population, limited housing supply and demand for more rental properties.
Due to the rising rental costs, students have voiced their concerns about difficulties affording accommodation. Molly Morris, a Junior Sophister student at Trinity, has shared that “it is very hard to find something within a reasonable budget”.
Nicole Hegedus, a fourth-year National College of Art and Design (NCAD) student, has also found it “really hard” to find affordable accommodation during her time in college, whether in student housing or private rentals. As a result, she continues to live at home and commute to college daily, a trip that can take between 45 minutes and two and a half hours one way from Navan, County Meath.
Issie Slentz, a Junior Sophister student, notes that international students, too, have trouble finding accommodation as they do not have the same “connections” as some Irish people.
Students have reported several other challenges with finding accommodations in Dublin. Hegedus states that landlords often “take advantage of students to make more money”, adding that issues such as “mould” are sometimes pushed “under the carpet” during viewings.
One student, who asked to remain anonymous, says that they “got scammed last year and lost their first month’s rent and deposit”. They mention that even when using Daft.ie, which markets itself as Ireland’s number one property website, after submitting over a hundred housing applications, they never heard back from anyone.
Freja Goldman, a Junior Sophister English student, criticised what she described as a lack of “safeguards” in Dublin to “ensure renters are treated fairly”. She said that this enabled her previous flatmates to take advantage of her. Despite having the smallest room, she later found out that her flatmates had misled her into unknowingly paying a third of the total rent for the apartment. After asking to see the lease agreement, she discovered that she was living there illegally, as the landlord did not know that there were four people living in the apartment.
Goldman believes that when “people are incentivised to take advantage of you . . . renting in Dublin becomes even more complicated”.
