Average rental prices in Clare have increased by 16 percent in the space of one year.
Clare has an average rent price of €900 which represents a 16 percent rise in the space of twelve months. Across the country, the average increase is seven percent with an average rent of €1,352 paid nationally.
Quarterly rent index from the Residential Tenancies Board detail that Clare is among counties such as Laois, Sligo, Wicklow, Mayo, Offaly, Kilkenny and Longford that have all showed increases of more than ten percent during the lockdown, the fastest rising being Leitrim at 17.3 percent.
Given CSO figures for 2019 indicate that the median household income for renters is €38,558. That means that in certain cases, 7% of the households’ disposable income is going on rent.
Lack of plans to tackle rising rents was criticised by Clare TD, Violet-Anne Wynne (SF). “The government has no plan to tackle runaway rents. That much is clear from reading the new housing plan and listening to the Minister for Housing. The delivery of the long-promised cost rental legislation is slow and even then, most of these rents will not be genuinely affordable”.
She added, “Ordinary people cannot afford to rent nor can they afford to buy. They remain stuck. This is not a normal way to live and it cannot continue”.
