Been apartment hunting lately?

It doesn’t take a property expert to realise that the rental market in Ireland is completely out of whack. Landlords are charging exorbitant amounts of money for box rooms with no windows and people are increasingly sharing rooms with bunk-beds. The most recent report released by Daft.ie reveals that in cities all across the Republic of Ireland there has been an increase in the price of renting by 16 per cent. There seems to be a clear-cut case of supply not meeting demand and landlords are taking advantage of this fact by charging excessive amounts for increasingly smaller or unsuitable places. Currently in Dublin, rent prices are 1.3 per cent higher than the boom years and we all know how that ended.

€310 p/m for 1/3 of a room in Rialto #rentripoff same day FG and FF vote down rent certainty #Dail pic.twitter.com/Jl9rKq9CWg

— Glenn Fitzpatrick (@glennthefitz) June 16, 2016

The county with the highest rent rise this year, according to the report was in the people’s republic of Cork, where a place in the city is 16 per cent more expensive compared to this time in 2015.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the most expensive place to rent in Ireland is on Dublin’s Southside, where renting a house will set you back around €1,663 a month.

The cheapest place to rent can be found in Waterford where the same house will just cost you €687 a month.

Worryingly, these spiraling private rental prices are having a knock-on effect and putting undue strain on already struggling families. The more prices in the private rental sector soar the more we see families thrust into homelessness. Last month the Dublin Tenants Association launched their #rentripoff campaign and invited people to share their experiences with the Irish rental market online.

#podcast 40 with Mick Byrne of @DublinTenants on problems & solutions for renting in Dublin https://t.co/481l0yVdNI pic.twitter.com/gOiMPTRg8E — Here's How Podcast (@HeresHowPodcast) June 22, 2016

A note on our May #rentripoff campaign. Why did we run it? How’d it go? https://t.co/CIpYhcyWGk pic.twitter.com/Vp4VK9k7vJ

— Dublin Tenants (@DublinTenants) June 10, 2016

€1000 for one bed apt with plumbing & heating issues, baby on the way, can't find anything better #rentripoff pic.twitter.com/UtJc41ZkwO — Dublin Tenants (@DublinTenants) May 31, 2016

50% income on rent, couple renting 1 bed apt, mould & damp which lldlord says is 'normal' #rentripoff pic.twitter.com/Eof3LOEx2U

— Dublin Tenants (@DublinTenants) May 31, 2016

The Dublin Tenants Association has this to say about the campaign:

“This campaign put tenants from the private rented sector in the picture, for once. In a city where 1-in-3 are renting, with no prospect of accessing social housing or mortgages, this is simply not the reality on the ground. The private rental sector is currently the main source of homelessness due to sky-rocketing rents and poor security of tenure.”

Considering the fact that many of us will probably never own property, we should really be ensuring that rent certainty and security of tenure is debated at a national level. If you or someone that you know is experiencing unfair treatment at the hands of a tenant, consult the threshold website for more information.

Have a renting horror story that you'd like to share? Get in touch - email Hello@Her.ie