Ireland's rental crisis: Tenants charged €199 a week to share a room with stranger and 11 housemates
Rents will continue to rise as the Government’s new rent reforms have kicked in, a TD has said, as a listing on Ireland’s most popular housing search website is charging €199 a week to share a bedroom with a stranger and 11 other housemates.There are currently under 1,000 properties available to rent in Dublin on Daft.ie, with many of these being single rooms. Rent prices continued to rise last year, with the latest report released by the website last month showing a 4.4 per cent rise nationally compared to 2024.The number of homes to rent in Dublin was down by over one-third in 2025, with just 1,800 properties up for let nationwide on February 1. And renters fear prices will rise even more with the Government’s new rent reforms that kicked in on March 1.While the legislation aims to give tenants more security with six-year leases, it also gives landlords the opportunity to raise the rent to market rates every six years. Out of the 985 properties currently listed in Dublin, there are slim pickings for renters.The cheapest listing will set a potential tenant back €700 a month, for a single bed in a shared house in Blanchardstown. There have been over 6,000 views on the listing, which doesn’t properly show the bedroom. However, it appears that the single bed is a bunk bed.Other properties on the first page of the "cheapest" rentals in Dublin include €800-a-month for double rooms in shared houses in Ballymun and Finglas. There are currently no other rentals on the website for this price; the next "cheapest" is €199 a week to share a room with a stranger in Rathmines.The listing is for a six-bedroom house, where all bedrooms have two single beds. Also on the "cheapest" page, a potential tenant can pay €1,150 for a one-bedroom apartment in Clondalkin.While this is on the cheaper side for a one-bedroom in the capital, it is part of an owner occupied house with a shared bathroom. On the expensive side, renters are getting the "rare opportunity" to rent a furnished "luxury" two-bedroom two-bathroom apartment in Dublin 4 for €6,000.The description for the property reads: "Rare opportunity to rent a furnished, luxury two bedroom, two bathroom apartment in this beautifully manicured gated development of only 17 apartments, conveniently located in the heart of Ballsbridge, Dublin 4."This apartment is bright and spacious, featuring a master bedroom with en-suite." Properties on the south side take up the first page of the most expensive homes currently listed on Daft.ie. In Dun Laoghaire, a terraced three-bedroom house is up for let at €5,500 a month.Its description says the house offers three double bedrooms and one bathroom, a "spacious kitchen" and "direct sea views". The most expensive property on the website is in Ballsbridge.The five-bedroom seven-bathroom house on the Raglan Road is up for €16,300 a month. However, it isn’t just the southside where rentals are being priced at over €5,000 a month.In Santry, a landlord is hoping to get €6,250 a month for their bungalow. Commenting on these listings, Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan said they continue to go from "bad to worse" as "the situation worsens" under Housing Minister James Browne.He added: "Given the impact of Minister Browne’s rip off rent bill has not began to filter through yet, the rents advertised for these dwellings will only rise and rise. In passing the Residential Tenancies Bill Amendment Bill, Minister Browne deliberately opened the floodgates to extreme rent increases for renters across the country."The consistent rent increases throughout the last decade show that renters are not a political priority for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. What are we facing into for students in September? Complete rental Armageddon will occur unless the Government reverse course and take action to freeze rents and bring them down."Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here.
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