Rents in Mayo 8.8% higher than a year ago
MARKET rents in Mayo in the first quarter of 2026 were on average 8.8% higher than a year ago.
The typical open-market rent of a three-bedroom house in the county was €1543.
Nationally, market rents rose sharply in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie, with the national average increasing by 4.4% between December and March.
This is the largest quarterly increase in rents in a series extending back to 2002. The average market rent for a two-bedroom apartment nationwide in early 2026 is now over €2,100 per month.
Market rents are now more than one third above their pre-Covid levels and almost 80% higher than 10 years ago.
There were just under 2,500 homes available to rent nationwide on May 1. This is an increase compared to the same date one year ago, when availability stood at just over 2,300, and more noticeably on three months ago, when fewer than 1,800 homes were on the market.
Nonetheless, availability remains well below pre-pandemic norms, when there were typically over 4,000 homes to rent at any one time.
Between July 2025 and January 2026, the number of homes put up for rent was 10% lower than in the same period a year earlier. Since January, however, as the new rules came into force, listings have increased, with over 10,600 homes put on the market in February, March and April, up 13% year-on-year. Nonetheless, the recent increase in listings is only about half the size of the earlier decline.
Commenting on the report, its author, Ronan Lyons, Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin, said: “The first data following the introduction of new rent controls show a sharp increase in rents, alongside a more modest and potentially temporary increase in rental availability. The ability to reset rents between tenancies appears to have led to a step-change in rents, with the largest quarterly increase in rents on record.
“At the same time, the increase in listings in early 2026 suggests that some landlords delayed putting properties on the market until the new rules came into force. However, the rebound in listings is smaller than the earlier fall, and availability remains far below what would be considered normal.
“Trends in room rentals are consistent with this, with the number of rooms available to rent down sharply over the past year, down by more than one fifth nationally and by almost one third in Dublin. This indicates that the recent increase in full-property listings is more likely to reflect timing effects, rather than a sustained increase in underlying rental supply.
“The goal of changing the rules, to increase the supply of rental homes and thereby improve affordability for tenants, depends on whether new rental housing is built. As the construction of new homes takes years, rather than months, it will be some time before the ultimate impact of the rules can be assessed.”