New renters pay on average 16.4 per cent (€214) more in rent than existing tenants according to research carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI).
The national 'raw average rent' shows a broad picture of the discrepancy, but does not take into account the property type or size.
Based on similar properties, the ESRI found existing tenants pay 15.2 per cent less than new tenants, with the difference being lowest in the Greater Dublin Area (excluding Dublin) where it is 12.5 per cent, and Dublin, which had a 13.4 per cent gap.
For the rest of the country, existing renters paid on average 17.3 per cent less than their new counterparts for comparable properties.
The research, which compared new tenancies registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) between April and September 2022 to existing tenancies of at least one year in duration, also found two fifths of new tenancies in the capital surpassed the €2,000-per-month mark, compared to one fifth of existing tenancies.
In the GDA excluding Dublin, tenancies with a monthly rent of less than €1,500 represented nearly 80 per cent of existing agreements, but fell to two thirds among new renters.
The largest gap in rent between new and existing tenants was noted in the north-west, west and parts of the midlands, which the ESRI explained "likely reflect the rapid rental inflation in new tenancies observed in more rural and less traditional rental markets in recent quarters, as well as less frequent turnover of properties in many of these areas".
Based on property size, the research also found that the largest rent discrepancies between the two groups were in respect of larger properties, especially in the cities of Waterford, Limerick and Galway.
The report author, Dr Rachel Slaymaker, said the research is important for understanding the Irish rental market as a whole, as data typically focusses only on new tenancies.
"Observing large differences between existing and new tenancy rents can help to identify particular pressure points in the market," Dr Slaymaker added.
By Muireann Duffy
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