Fears are being expressed that Clare’s rental crisis will ‘get worse before it gets better’.
It’s after a new report suggests average rent prices here are now €1,145 – well over double their lowest point.
Rent prices in Clare are 113 percent higher than their lowest levels.
The cost of renting in home in the Banner has jumped by nearly 13 percent in just a year, and more than 3 percent in the last 3 months alone.
The findings are contained in Daft.ie’s latest Rental Price Report which has been released today.
Letting a three-bedroom property will set you back €1,029, while a four bed in Clare now costs €1,159 a month.
Economist and author of the Daft.ie report Ronan Lyons says a better provision of public housing is needed, but an examination is needed as to why the housing market has been allowed to get to this point in the first place.
Meanwhile, the report shows a mortgage payment for the a three-bedroom house is almost 50% cheaper than its rental cost.
The concerns aren’t just about high prices though, but a low supply across Clare.
There are currently only 21 properties available to rent in the county.
Karina Timothy, who’s Threshold’s Western Regional Services Manager which includes this county, believes greater tax breaks for small landlords to stop them leaving the market are needed.
Sinn Fein says the government is running out of time to fix what it’s described as the crisis facing the rental sector.
The party’s housing spokesperson Eoin O’ Broin says Minister for Housing Minister Darragh O Brien must take immediate action before it’s too late.
Listen back to the full interview here:
