Worsening housing shortage: Cost of renting in Longford rises to €1,400 per month

In Longford, market rents were on average 6.2% higher in the first quarter of 2025 than a year previously.

The average listed rent is now €1400, up 89% from the level prevailing when the covid 19 pandemic occurred.

According to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie, market rents rose by an average of 3.4% in the first three months of 2025, one of the largest three-month increases in the last two decades.

Also read: Housing supply in Longford plummets to 'an all time low' while rents soar

Market rents in Leinster's midland counties rose 5.2% year-on-year, down from 15.6% a year ago.  

The on-going increase in rents reflects very tight availability, with fewer than 70 homes available to rent on May 1, down almost one third year-on-year and just one third the late 2010s average.

Also read: Longford renters paying the price for government housing failures

Ronan Lyons, Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin, said: “The average open-market rent nationwide exceeds €2,000 a month for the first time, up from below €1,400 a month just five years ago. The sustained increases in rents in the open market are being driven by an acute and worsening shortage of rental housing.

"Unfortunately, changes made to rent controls in 2021 dramatically reduced the ability of Ireland’s rental sector to attract the capital needed for new supply, the ultimate remedy for the shortage. The opportunity exists for the government to reform those controls and facilitate the emergence of a new pipeline of rental homes. Nonetheless, further supports will be needed to encourage new rental supply outside of the Greater Dublin Area.”

Also read: Housing shortage crisis: Just 12 properties available to rent in Longford