The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
County saw the second highest rent rise in country over 12-month period
CLARE has seen the second highest increase in rents in Ireland over the past year.
Average rents in the county now stand at almost €900, according to the Residential Tenancies Board, with a 16.1% increase in one year.
Between the second quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021, Clare had the second highest increase in Ireland.
The standardised average rent in Clare is now €894.06, and while the growth in Clare has been very substantial and fast, the average price here is still lower than in 13 other counties.
The RTB found that in the Shannon Municipal District the average rent is €967.08, while in the Ennis Municipal District it is €921.55. Figures for the county’s other Municipal Districts were not available.
The RTB said the situation in the second quarter of the year was influenced by the Covid-19 situation at that time.
“At present, economic developments remain tied to the spread of Covid-19, the associated restrictions on economic and social life and the changes in behaviour of households and enterprises in reaction to the pandemic.
“Q2 2021 was a quarter in which there was a phased reopening of the Irish economy and a general relaxation of the strict public health measures which had been in place in Q1, 2021,” the report stated.
Clare Sinn Féin TD Violet Anne Wynne claimed that many people in Clare are being thrown into difficulty by the state of the market.
“House prices in Clare have risen by almost 17.5% over the past 12 months – the third highest increase in the country,” said Deputy Wynne.
“The price of a three-bed property has increased by 23% over the last year, while four-beds are averaging €290,000. This is out of the range of affordability for most Irish families, that’s the reality,” she noted.
“For renters, monthly rents are skyrocketing, and the lack of security of tenure is meaning that many renters are being served notices to quit and can’t find alternative accommodation.
“As of Monday of last week, there were 26 properties to rent across Clare, none of which were in North Clare.
“According to the most recent census, the ‘net household need’ which is the total number of households that qualify for social housing supports that are not receiving it, is the second highest it’s been since 1993.
“This means despite all of the increased investment in housing budget – more and more people are unable to interact in the housing market.
“If you are unlucky enough to be deemed ineligible for social housing supports, it means you are left in limbo,” she said.
“The Government have failed to undertake the much-needed review of the Income Threshold, which is resulting in families being left out to dry, with zero access to support in an extremely competitive market.
“Meanwhile, the numbers of those accessing homelessness services is also spiralling upward,” said the SF deputy.
“The national number of people registered as homeless has increased for the third month in a row this month, up to 8,212, which includes more than 2,000 children, according to latest Department of Housing figures.”
She was critical of Minister Darragh O’Brien’s Housing For All policy.
“He’s making a mockery of the people by expecting them to believe that ‘Housing for All’ is going to be the panacea to the damage caused by decades of prioritising vested interests, vulture-funds and property developers.
“We’re only at the beginning of the implementation period and it’s already proving to be unfeasible.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
