The cost of renting a home in Dublin increased at 10 times the rate of other parts of the Republic over the last 12 months, and capital rents are now twice as much as elsewhere, according to figures published yesterday .

The latest Private Residential Tenancies Board/ESRI Rent Index shows Dublin rents in the first three months of this year up 8.4 per cent on the same period last year while the rental market outside the capital was virtually static with growth of just 0.8 per cent.

The average national rent for a house in the first three months of this year was €775, but again, major discrepancies have been identified between Dublin and elsewhere. The average monthly amount paid in rent in Dublin was put at €1,227 while outside Dublin it stood at €637. The average cost of renting an apartment in Dublin was €1,148 while outside the capital it was €594.

Over a shorter period, it shows rents in Dublin climbing by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year when compared with the fourth quarter of 2013. The rent indices for properties outside Dublin show rents in the first quarter of 2014 up 0.4 per cent on the previous quarter.

Nationally, rents are now 23 per cent lower than they were at their peak in late 2007 while in Dublin rents are down 16.4 per cent from the peak.

Index of real rents

The PRTB/ESRI Rent Index is based on more than 30,000 tenancies registered with the board and is the most accurate rent report of its kind on the private accommodation sector in

Ireland

. It reflects the actual rents being paid, according to the PRTB’s records, as distinct from the asking or advertised rents.

“The private rented sector in this country continues to reflect a story of two very different markets,” said the director of the PRTB, Anne Marie Caulfield.

“Dublin continues to show a strong year-on-year growth in rent levels, while the rest of the country shows only a marginal increase over the year to the end of March.”