Ireland rents rise 7% to highest level since 1996 in October 2026
Irish rents rose +7% in the year to October 2026 and mortgage interest costs 10.8%, with rents at their highest level since the series began in 1996.
The facts
- Rents in Ireland rose +7% in the year to October 2026 and stand at their highest level since the series began in November 1996, the Central Statistics Office said on 11 November 2026.
- Mortgage interest costs rose 10.8% over the same twelve months and are at their highest level since October 2008.
- Measured over five years, rents are up 36% and mortgage interest costs up 98.3% against October 2021.
- Rents added 0.44 percentage points and mortgage interest 0.32 percentage points to the 4.3% overall rate of consumer price inflation.
- The figures come from the consumer price index, so they track what sitting tenants and borrowers actually pay, not asking rents on new lettings.
What it means for your money
- Rent income grows 7% a year; borrowing costs grow 10.8%. A leveraged entry loses that gap, a cash entry keeps it.
- Glopra puts Irish round-trip transaction costs at 2.4%, among the lowest in Europe, while 20% rental tax applies to the income: cheap to enter, taxed to hold.
- A landlord already financed at a fixed rate takes the 7% rent rise in full and the 10.8% interest rise not at all, which is the whole argument for fixing in this market.
What to watch
- The November consumer price index, due in December, and whether mortgage interest keeps outrunning rents.
- The 98.3% five-year rise is measured against October 2021, so the figure reflects where interest costs started as much as where they stand now.
Sources: Central Statistics Office https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/is/is-frmic/focusonrentandmortgageinterestcostsoctober2026/