Wicklow rents soar as new tenants slapped with second highest costs in Ireland

After Dublin, with an average rent for new tenancies of €2,102, Wicklow is now the second most expensive county for a new renter to find a home, with Kildare commanding €1,525 for new tenancies in third place.

Looking at the figures by local areas, there are marginal exceptions to those figures in Greystones as new renters will have to pay €1,674 compared with the current average of €1,689. In Bray East, new tenants can expect to pay €1,411 compared with €1,319 for existing ones, while in Baltinglass, there is a substantial jump as new tenants pay €1,469 and existing pay €1,160.

Wicklow TD John Brady described the figures as “staggering” and called for a ban on rent increases, as the new data released by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) on Thursday, November 30, also shows that rents being paid by existing tenants are rising at a slower pace than those faced by new tenants.

“The report from the RTB showing massive increases in rents is shocking,” he said. “Families, workers and young people deserve and need affordable housing and affordable rents. Sinn Féin’s proposal to cut rents and freeze them would have prevented these massive increases in rents. In our own county of Wicklow, the average rent for new tenancies in Wicklow is now €1,584 per month. This is simply unsustainable. When will it end? Renters in Wicklow cannot keep taking these kinds of rent hikes. They need a break.”

Government announced in Budget 2024 that the rent tax credit introduced in 2023 would continue and would be increased. Individuals renting private accommodation that is registered with the RTB can claim up to €500 for 2022 and 2023, and €750 for 2024 and 2025. For some, this could tax rebate could be as much as one month's rent if they are sharing, but Deputy Brady sees the credit as insufficient.

“Government must urgently introduce a ban on rent increases for existing and new tenancies,” he said. “They must also put a full month’s rent back in every private renter’s pocket. Government also needs to increase and accelerate the delivery of social and affordable homes, including cost rental homes, so that renters are not left at the mercy of an expensive and insecure private rental sector.”

The comparative figures have emerged between new and existing tenancies following the introduction last year of a requirement for tenancies to be registered on an annual basis, which means rents for existing tenancies as well as new ones are now being captured for the first time, something hailed as “a major step forward" by Director of the RTB, Niall Byrne.

It means information is now available for tenants which was not available in previous rental reports.