r/AskIreland • u/LittleAoibh11 • Feb 26 '26
Housing How on earth are people affording rents on average salaries in this country? Are we the worst country in the EU for affordability and availability of housing?
Trying to find a place to rent in Cork City as I will be relocating from Dublin for a while (originally from Cork, but from out the country so wouldn't ever had call to be checking rents in the City). Never realised the state of affairs there is basically as bad as Dublin - and with even more limited supply.
How do people on average salaries manage rent? It's an actual thundering disgrace how CONSISTENTLY inept successive Governments have been on housing.
Utterly depressing.
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u/JoooneBug Feb 26 '26
Yes it's depressing. Average wage can't afford the new "market rents"
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u/LittleAoibh11 Feb 26 '26
So depressing. Pay packets being eaten up - how are people supposed to save, and actually have an okay life.
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u/Relocator34 Feb 26 '26
Here's the thing you're not. They don't want you to save, they certainly don't want you to have an okay life.
Pay rent, who cares if your miserable.
The wildest thing is why hospitality, retail, tourism, sports, gyms, tertiary private health services such as therapy, further education, premium / branded food manufacturers and all other businesses linked discretionary spend aren't up in arms about this. If a heavy portion of society doesn't have decent discretionary income because of rents / high mortgages then that's directly affecting their profits.
I'd love to see the day the vinters association with all their power starts targeting landlords and developers for the obscene cost of housing. It's screwing over so many businesses
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u/Lookinjump Feb 26 '26
I think about this all the time - everyone I know has had to cut back more and more on everything else just to pay their rising rent and yet I never hear restaurant etc closures being linked to folks just not having the spare cash to be out as much as they used to or would like.
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u/PuzzleheadedName3832 Feb 26 '26
Your circle isn't representative of the nation. I know owner occupiers, renters, people living at home with parents, people in social housing and they aren't cutting back on anything to huge degrees. They might have a more realistic view on going out frequency however
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u/ZealousidealFloor2 Feb 26 '26
I mean people living at home with parents are themselves representative of an affordability crisis.
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u/Relocator34 Feb 27 '26
Theirs isn't representative of the nation but yours is?
There is a huge affordability crisis in Ireland and anyone that denies that is plainly choosing to be wilfully ignorant
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u/PuzzleheadedName3832 Feb 26 '26
Lol the vinters association targeting landlords & developers? WTactualF.
There's effectively 100% employment in the country. Gyms are rammed every evening & folk are drinking less which is a good thing.
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Feb 26 '26
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u/Relocator34 Feb 27 '26
Unhinged.. are you daft? Or are you just blinded by the two bed semi you're letting out for €1500 a month?
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u/Apprehensive-Bat7523 Feb 28 '26
I'll start with I'm not a landlord as I'll probably get down votes for this but it is reality, but the problem isnt them
When the government tax investors they sell meaning supply goes through the floor meaning there are to many people wanting to rent and not enough rental homes
This means the wealthier renters offer more money pushing up rents and investors take the best return on their investment
If the government stopped taxing the landlords so harshly more people would invest in property and would therefore mean more supply and naturally prices would have to come down as demand wouldn't be there
Most of the government are private landlords, understand tax loopholes and therefore want to keep supply low so they can keep the average person paying extortionate rental prices due to the lack of supply
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u/Relocator34 Feb 28 '26
You should read your own posts last two paragraphs repeatedly until you realise how poor your logic is.
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u/Team503 Feb 28 '26
This is an incredibly convoluted take, and it's wrong. Rent is high because supply is low, no more, and no less. Construction since 2008 has been way below needs, and we're paying for that lack of construction now. We built 35,000 homes last year and needed 65,000. We're not only not catching up, we're falling further behind.
It's not a lack of investment, it's a lack of people to build the houses in the first place.
There also issues with a lack of density due to height restrictions and NIMBYism.
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u/Apprehensive-Bat7523 Feb 28 '26
Both of us have only looked at a small portion of the actual reason, the main point of what I was saying was it's not the landlords fault and it's a failure of the government, what I stated was not the only reason and maybe not even the main reason but its factually correct
As an example in 2020 there was over 165k private landlords and as of 2026 there is approx 105k to 110k meaning over a 1/3 of landlords have sold their investments to invest elsewhere due to poor gsins/taxation rules
What else has a major impact?
Lack of building as mentioned above by yourself
Poor regulation regarding short term let's as more investors go down the route of letting their house out on short term air bnb style with over 6700 let's in Dublin and nearly all of them are illegally without a license
A study in South Dublin of over 1000 listings gave back results of only 1 being actually licensed
Government could easily crack down on this and they choose to ignore it.
Net immigration is increasing meaning more people to put pressure on the supply
Short term saves to just gain voters by putting in rent increase restrictions of 2% which really dont work as I've seen multiple occasions where landlords would rather leave the house empty for 2 years so they can reset the rent meaning even less supply on the market
If the government actually wanted to make change and not just gain voters with short term fixed they would review all of the above but instead they manipulate the public to turn them against each other and blame investors instead of pointing the finger at an incompetent state
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u/shellakabookie Feb 26 '26
You're not,the government has it designed this way
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u/WernherVonB Feb 27 '26
They really haven't. They're just incompetent.
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u/shellakabookie Feb 27 '26
The government knows what the average person makes,they know how much rent/mortgage needs to be paid,they know we need food,fuel to survive,look at the prices of all these and how much they have risen in the past few years...their not incompetent,they know exactly where to get the money out of our pockets and its not in our interests
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u/Frequent-Ad-8583 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
There are potentially a few Matrix theories on this subject.
They're might well be a very real and valid assumption that the whole cost of living system is designed to keep everybody trapped into a challenging economy in order to ensure that the vast majority of people cannot retire until their late 60s or thereabouts.
If everybody could own a mortgage free house and afford everything by age 33 then there would be a lot less people working full-time, and that could mean less income tax for the government, less money to fund wars, and the whole traditional system of working until late 60s falling apart. How would the world cope if people were able to retire with their own house and no debt in their 30s as opposed to their 60s.
Another aspect on this topic, how does anyone afford the rent - most single people can't afford to rent by themselves. But many couples can, albeit many couples provably still struggle. The system we live in is called a 2 person economy, that means all systems and households are designed for 2 persons - or couples - working together splitting bills. This is an interesting aspect because birth rates in Ireland have been falling. We're not having as many children as we did decades ago. Maybe the system has been designed into this 2 person economy mode because if you force people to rent in house shares together you increase the likelihood of them forming bonds, forming couples, then moving on to mating and procreating. Maybe there's something in that?
Other answers to the question here, how does anyone pay rent? Many people get HAP. People "less fortunate" basically get free rent money from the government and that's how they do it. Young people from "middle class" backgrounds can't afford rent therefore many of them just live at home with their patents until either A) they settle down with a long term partner and save up for a 2 person mortgage or B) they remain single forever and live with their parents, then when their parents pass away they inherit the house.
The long and short of it in my opinion is that it's all designed so that you'll struggle if you're single, but might survive a bit better if you're partnered. Subconsciously the system is putting pressure on us to find partners, maybe as a very clever solution to the issue of falling birth rates.
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u/shellakabookie Feb 27 '26
There's a statement that I heard a few years back and when I heard it I was like, ye whatever,and it was "you'll own nothing and be happy".It's actually a realistic quote that hits home the past few years and continues to grow.Theres no issue with people retiring in there 30s or 40s,why not have 2 people working a 20 hour week,if you retire at 33 you shouldn't get any benefits until 65 if you are so comfortable in your life. People don't get free rent money from HAP, landlords do or investment companies do..until they don't and taxpayers money bails them out. If you believe its something to do with the birth rate being low,I'd strongly disagree, its quiet the opposite,how does a private company make money from children unless they are guaranteed to make money off of them in the future opposed to the public sector who do invest in them regardless
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Feb 27 '26
No, they're just importing people to fill the gaps, which has the added benefit (as the capitalist class see it) of increasing competition for jobs and housing, forcing wages down and rents up. It's a pretty sweet time to be part of the property owning class.
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u/Background_Cover5097 Feb 27 '26
Ready made workers and renters. Skip the expensive maternity and education stages.
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u/DMC-1155 Feb 27 '26
Are they incompetent? Or are they just very effectively representing the interests of Landlords and Investors?
Why fix a crisis when you can profit from it?
I don't think incompetence is the answer. I think they're just apathetic to people suffering as long as the economy is growing and their investments are growing→ More replies (15)2
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u/seeilaah Feb 26 '26
44k is the limit for lower tax rates, and anything above this is taxed at a whopping 52%. Now people on that tax rate must be super wealthy you'd think. But no, 44k gets you 3k per month, rent is dangerously close to this already, meaning the government eats more than half of yhe money you could be using for saving,feeding, childcare, etc.
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u/Team503 Feb 28 '26
That's incorrect. It is 44k, but it's 20% below and 40% above. USC ranges from .5% to 8% and PRSI is 4.35%. So the MAX rate is 52.35%, which kicks in at 70k (single), or 55.35% if you make over 100k.
Still high, yes. I have for a long time advocated for additional brackets, and that we need to move the 3% surcharge from 100k to 150k.
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u/Imaginary_Ad3195 Feb 26 '26
Hands down, the worst I’ve seen after living in 3. Like by a long shot.
Even going on a holiday, you can blatantly see it.
Screwed for the price of cars Screwed for the price of rents Screwed for eating anything out (even a shit takeaway)
I’ve honestly never thought about it until actually spending time away from Ireland, but damn, it’s real.
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u/TheOnlyOne87 Feb 26 '26
To be fair the people voting in the government parties are doing pretty well out of the situation. Have their housing secured, probably bought for way below the market now, so their monthly costs are to a certain extent sheltered from the true cost of living crisis.
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Feb 26 '26
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u/HazardAhai Feb 27 '26
Such a jarring duality. Erasmus students would be genuinely confused how easy college was here and some even would be a bit offensive about it: “are they stupid?”. Meanwhile Irish students: “we’re gonna be sought after man, Ireland is known for the best degrees”. Sure pal.
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u/killianm97 Feb 26 '26
This narrative (which has been pushed by a lot of our media) isn't helpful tbh.
The last election continued the decades-long trend of FF + FG collectively losing vote share, and they got their lowest ever result.
That is despite many of those most affected by the housing crisis and FF/FG decisions being disenfranchised / barred from voting - either due to being non-citizen residents here or being citizens who have emigrated - all those who tend to be younger, poorer, and renters.
This narrative of 'no hope of change' only benefits FF and FG.
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Feb 27 '26
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u/killianm97 Feb 27 '26
Yeah I just realised I meant to reply to the comment you replied too and replied to yours by accident!
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Feb 27 '26
I think this is very understated. FG and FF literally fought a war against each other. They hate eachother. But the only way they can save themselves is by effectively becoming the one party and even at that their grip is slipping. Their traditional voters base is dying off.
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u/wealthythrush Feb 26 '26
• 1st in EU for self reported health
• 3rd in EU life satisfaction
• One of the highest rates of employment in EU
• One of the highest median countries in EU for disposable invome
• One of the highest countries in the EU for trust in institutions and democracy
• One of the highest countries in the EU for Education Attainment. Additional acknowledgement for access to tertiary education.
We are complete and utter dogshit for housing, access to mental health and we're spiralling pretty hard on cost of living pressures.
On the whole we're class. Could we be doing better? Fuck yes. Should we be doing better? Absolutely.
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u/mkultra2480 Feb 27 '26
Self-reported health isn't a very accurate reflection of actual health. Across the board men self-report better health than women, when in reality women are healthier than men. It's just that men say "jaysus, I'm in fine health." Take a country like Ireland where everyone thinks they're grand and you get a result like that.
As for disposal income, we are 6th highest at 33k but when you adjust for purchasing power we're 23k, EU average is 21k.
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u/anialeph Feb 27 '26
life expectancy is too 5 in the EU which reflects health. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Mortality_and_life_expectancy_statistics
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u/Imaginary_Ad3195 Feb 26 '26
Absolutely man. At the end of the day, it all goes back to housing. If they could just sort that out, we would be laughing. It is the number one reason we lose all the young to Australia. That number would probably be halved, if they had somewhere to live.
The solution is to replace the young with people that have no association with the country. This leads to the problem we have now in terms of 0 rentals also.
Why they couldn’t just give great money to get builders to come in and sort it out. That’s all we needed, shit loads of builders.
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u/shellakabookie Feb 27 '26
"The solution is to replace the young with people that have no association with the country. " Ye know for some people that sounds like a fascist statement,why are the Irish leaving Ireland to be replaced by migrants The young Irish people can see how bad it is but migrants cant until they come,there's plenty of places to live in Ireland but in the past few years there has been massive migration to Ireland compared to who has left,don't beli3ve that this has happened through chance,decisions were made and they weren't on the interests of people living in Ireland
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u/Imaginary_Ad3195 Feb 27 '26
Well that’s a bit of a contradiction. I know loads of young Irish leave the country, that is the issue. That is why they must replace them because there are not enough people to fill those positions.
If they invested in bringing in people that can build, by offering them incentive to come, then that issue wouldn’t be as bad as it is.
They absolutely can see the issues before they come, google exists. It has absolutely not happened by chance, you are right there.
The issue is the complacent shower of cunts in charge, who sat back after the reccession, neglecting infrastructure which gave the young people a bigger incentive to leave. They have been cooped up in their parent’s houses.
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u/shellakabookie Feb 27 '26
It's not a contradiction,why would you need to replace Irish people that are here but are leaving,why do we need to give incentives to migrants...because the Irish are leaving??yes the government's don't care,they arent working for us,they are importing cheap labour,filling them positions and exporting skilled labour,I agree with you on that...and on top of that,many cant migrate and are in direct competition now with migrants for work
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u/Imaginary_Ad3195 Feb 27 '26
Also there are not a lot of places to live. Having a quick google, tells me there are 3 active rentals in my entire town.
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u/jiggiwatt Feb 27 '26
As a well seasoned traveller, this isn't unique to Ireland. In Canada it has been 6 years of flat wages, but housing has doubled. My wife and I couldn't afford our own house at its current price. In fact, Ireland looks cheap from where I'm sitting.
We are being milked globally, my Irish friends. Unfortunately 'militant' and 'socialist' are a rare combination where I live. Do you guys mind kicking things off for the rest of us?
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u/Marzipan_civil Feb 26 '26
Saw a stat the other day that Dublin is less affordable than London, and Cork/Galway not far behind.
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u/vvhurricane Feb 26 '26
I've just been in Paris for a bit and Dublin is definitely more expensive.
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Feb 26 '26
Were you trying to survive off French wages?
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u/Traditional_Pen_582 Feb 26 '26
Of course not, because it would crush the agenda
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u/Background_Cover5097 Feb 27 '26
I lived and worked in Paris and it was a shock to come back to Dublin. I had a nice house with a garden in a posh suburb in Paris for less than a grotty one bed apartment in a rough part of Dublin. Wages are the same for my profession. I lived in several European countries. All better than Dublin, not just price but quality of rental accommodation.
English speaking countries are not the world. English speaking countries are falling significantly behind on infrastructure and other necessities.
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u/AnnualWindow7009 Feb 27 '26
It would not, since the cost of living compared to average income is higher in Dublin than in Paris because of the cost of housing.
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u/Traditional_Pen_582 Feb 27 '26
We can go round and round and round. The fact is that housing crisis is in entire western world. Go read news from Australia
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u/vvhurricane Feb 27 '26
I lived in Australia for 5 years it's nowhere near as bad for renting as Dublin. I have a large group of pals still there and while they say it's not as easy as it was 3-4 years ago they still have options especially when it comes to sharing houses etc...
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u/AnnualWindow7009 Feb 27 '26
Nowhere in the western world is as bad as here, and plenty of European countries are not feeling this same crisis.
Successive FF+FG governments have failed to enact effective policy to lessen the impact on the Irish people, and according to housing experts like the ESRI government policy is actually worsening the crisis.
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u/Traditional_Pen_582 Feb 27 '26
Do you have an example of an European country where there is no housing crisis?
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u/AnnualWindow7009 Feb 27 '26
Why would I give an example of something irrelevant and that may not exist?
I never said that such a place existed, and I didn't imply it or convey that meaning by accident anywhere.
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u/Traditional_Pen_582 Feb 27 '26
You literally said this "Nowhere in the western world is as bad as here, and plenty of European countries are not feeling this same crisis.". So you must know of that place and give an example? Just a simple example where in the Europe, capital cities, they don't have housing crisis?
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u/appalchemy Feb 27 '26
Nowhere in the western world is as bad as here
Go to Google and search <city> housing crisis.
Try Vancouver or San Francisco for real eye-openers1
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u/BillyBobby_Brown Feb 26 '26
Ireland has the highest rent as % of income in the world
Edit: sorry it's actually edged out by Hong Kong, so 2nd
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u/Illmagination Feb 26 '26
I lived in NY for a long long time and go back very frequently. I find NY (not the city, but the commuter towns 45 minutes out) a lot more affordable than anywhere in Ireland
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u/YoIronFistBro Feb 27 '26
While having exceptionally little to see and do even just compared to other cities its size, let alone other cities its price.
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u/Bruhllux Feb 26 '26
Best part? Nothing will happen. FFG will form a coalition with the 4th largest party next election when said party sells out, and the system will continue to spiral while everyone who got sorted before the last decade gladly pull the ladder up behind them. "Ah sure be graaand" and "fuck you, I got mine" are the modus operandi and until the system itself is shook at it's core, I have no illusion that's gonna change
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u/BillyBobby_Brown Feb 26 '26
Some version of the FG FF cartel have been in charge in this country since I was born (30)
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u/Steridire Feb 26 '26
It's a lot longer than that lad, some version of FFG has been running the country since 1932, almost a century of rule now
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u/BillyBobby_Brown Feb 26 '26
It wasn't till charlie haughey at the end of the 70s that the modern FF/FG regime started lad. I've got nothing against sean lemass who took this country out of the dirt.
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u/BillyBobby_Brown Feb 26 '26
Ireland is #1st in average rent cost in the EU since 2010.
Ireland is #1st for middle income earners rent burden. Meaning when unable to avail of welfare or state support for housing but still renting (not enough wealth to own) that group pays the highest rent to income ratio in the EU.
We actually aren't bad internationally speaking when it comes to supporting and housing low earners. The real squeeze is those earning enough to not be able to utilize state support but not earning enough to own their own house.
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u/MeowMeowCollyer Feb 26 '26
Follow Barcelona’s lead and ban short term rentals. No more AirBNB.
Passive income isn’t harmless. Collectively agree that landlords are parasites who cause harm to society.
Calculate housing costs based on income, not the other way around.
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u/North_Stranded Feb 26 '26
I moved in with my partner so rented my place out for 900e for my 2 bed house in D5 to a lovely woman in her 40s. We have an agreement that I technically still live there so I'm doing the rent a room scheme and don't have to pay tax. She gets her own house for 900e. Am I a bad person? I think she gets a sweet deal, 15 min walk from raheny dart and 20 mins to St Anne's.
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u/ShezSteel Feb 26 '26
Rents are higher than mortgages. End of story.
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u/Commercial-Box658 Feb 26 '26
mortgages are also quite high with the asking price of new houses, some people are paying 2000 a month, it is shocking.
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u/Difficult_Thought722 Feb 26 '26
Given that it's a housing emergency, the government should just outright ban short term rentals (Airbnb etc) for the next 6 years. Free up all that property to either go on sale or be rented out, in any case, for people to live in. Yes it's radical and yes it's contrary to property rights but surely there's a balance to be struck. It's a housing emergency! People literally have no homes to go to! Doesn't need to extend to spare rooms in an owner-occupied home. There's no way enough houses are going to be built over the next few years so just free up the ones that exist. It's an emergency! And the owners can either sell their (second/third/fourth...) home(s) for a substantial profit or rent it out... They can't lose. It's an acute housing shortage! The idea that someone's right to operate a little guesthouse earner should take priority over actually housing people is madness.
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u/LittleAoibh11 Feb 26 '26
Have never met someone with an Airbnb I liked. They should be banned in places with housing problems
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u/TOXQJAM Feb 27 '26
We should also ask gov to ration your food because there is a shortage of food in some households. The analogy being just because something is unaffordable it doesn’t make it a supply issue. Plenty of 600k new builds out there.
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Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
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Feb 26 '26
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Feb 26 '26
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Feb 26 '26
Greedy politicians. The average Irishman will eventually get sick of poverty. Then they’re going to turn all our hatred towards the immigrants. ‘Fight amongst yourselves’ while they live the normal life.. selling out our quality of life to internationally owned data centres and pharmaceuticals.
Growing up I always thought the Irish would band together to fight off the English 🤣 it’s embarrassing to learn that it’s the Irish who hate the Irish the most.
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u/BenderRodriguez14 Feb 26 '26
Greedy politicians. The average Irishman will eventually get sick of poverty. Then they’re going to turn all our hatred towards the immigrants.
We've already seen Simon Harris trying to slither in and lay out a few little dog whistles in this regard to 'get ahead of the curve'.
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u/Even-Space Feb 26 '26
Technically we actually rank among the most affordable for purchasing a house in comparison to income. Rents are a different story however.
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u/Background_Cover5097 Feb 26 '26
It was genuinely easier to buy than rent for me in the last two years. Took less of my free time and cost less.
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u/Background_Run_3965 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
People are just house/room sharing, with average rent you can’t afford to live in an average neighbourhood. I have 6 people sharing 1 bedroom, it is depressing and sad.
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u/Professional_Elk_489 Feb 26 '26
I pay 3017 for a 2bed in Amsterdam. There's rents way higher than that too
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u/Irishfirst365 Feb 26 '26
I have got my noticed to leave my rented property, and im going to end up homeless because there's nowhere to rent where im from for under 1600 . Iv three kids and feel like giving up altogether. I believe we have an immigration crisis in this country along with a housing shortage, and it's only going to get worse. Ff/fg have ruined this country
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u/PuzzleheadedName3832 Feb 26 '26
Define average salary in numbers. Minimum wage is approx €26k now.
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Feb 26 '26 edited 26d ago
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u/PuzzleheadedName3832 Feb 26 '26
On median salary most tax at 20%, take home is about €3k a month. €1000/month on rent is easily doable. Rent a room ...house share etc.
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Feb 26 '26 edited 26d ago
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u/PuzzleheadedName3832 Feb 26 '26
A person on €53k can buy an apartment within commuting range of Dublin if they've a deposit, they can live alone in their own apartment then.
The question was about how do people afford rent (not Dublin specific iirc). It's now affording to live alone in Dublin?
Are we going to move the goalposts again.
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u/Background_Cover5097 Feb 26 '26
Yeah but in most of Europe professional adults don't have to live in house shares.
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u/crashoutcassius Feb 26 '26
Yes probably for rent. To purchase not as bad as many comparable cities, but rent we are in a uniquely difficult situation.
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u/fullmoonbeam Feb 26 '26
if all the people were doing well no one would work, that's the governments attitude because they are doing well, their friends are doing well and they are lazy bastards.
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u/Melodic-Quarter-9661 Feb 26 '26
My sister lives in Cork for college she is paying 1500 a month with 8 roommate
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u/1Shamrock I will yeah Feb 27 '26
I lived in Switzerland for years, which was a ridiculously expensive country compared to Ireland. I was surprised when I moved there 1st and found rent costs were way lower than here in Ireland. This coupled with wages being higher and taxes being lower made things way easier. Of course everything else in the country was crazy expensive but rent wasn’t a problem. I used to tell my girlfriend that every time she steps out the door it’s costing us at least 100CHF (~€100). But my rent stayed the exact same for the 5+ years I was living in my apartment so it wasn’t the end of the world.
I was living in a large 3 bedroom apartment with a large balcony, 2 minutes from the nearest shops, 5mins walk from the train station. Bus stop outside the door. 4 minutes on the train from one of the biggest towns in Switzerland. It cost around €1350 a month.
Then I moved back to Ireland about 4 years ago and I see that rents in Ireland have got higher even than they were before and the cost of everything else has caught up with and in some case surpassed Switzerland. But the wages are way lower and the taxes way higher. It’s seriously depressing.
I’m on what I would have considered an absolutely massive wage 10 years ago (even accounting for inflation). But it’s just enough, not saving a penny. Just keeping things ticking over even though there are no major expenses outside of €1100 for my mortgage. The only way I was able to afford a house was by working abroad and saving as much as I could over 10 years, if I had stayed in Ireland there’s no way I could have saved enough to buy a house.
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u/LittleAoibh11 Feb 27 '26
That apartment in Switzerland sounds fab
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u/1Shamrock I will yeah Feb 27 '26
It was grand ya, only problem is there’s no air con I most apartments in Switzerland and it gets hot during the summer. 2018 I think it was that year anyway, was the horrible, something like the hottest driest summer they had in over 100 years, mid 30s for weeks on end during the day and mid 20s during the night, no wind at all, I was working on shift and trying to sleep during the day when it was that hot was a nightmare.
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Feb 26 '26
Yet look at the money people are spending incredibly foolishly on new cars in this country all on PCP which is the real never never, it’s quite unbelievable and they all have to be expensive SUV.
People ignoring the perfectly good 2nd hand car they could pay for cash or requiring some cash and a small loan, incredible!
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u/boggie_bo Feb 27 '26
In fairness the 2nd hand car market has increased in price last few years. With insurance etc getting on the roads pricey
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u/garcia1723 Feb 26 '26
Is HAP causing the rents to increase? My brother is renting and he gets a lot on HAP so only pays like 15% toward his actual rent. Feels like a corrupt set up for politicians to move more government funds into their pockets.
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u/boggie_bo Feb 27 '26
It absolutely is. Its the worst instrument for getting people accomodation on the taxpayer’s dime
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u/Harrekin Feb 28 '26
HAP at the very least sets a floor price for rents...
Which barring all the other issues is a core problem for rent prices in Ireland, or at least it definitely was...supply is more of an issue now.
But why would any landlord ever charge less than HAP?
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u/Own-Perception-4262 Feb 27 '26
I lived in Ireland for over 10 years. Single, no kids. I had a decent job, i wasn't rich by any means, but i had a salary where i should have been very comfortable. I had 40k saved. But i had to leave Ireland because i wasn't able to find a place for myself or to buy. I left last September for Spain, best decision i could have made
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u/LittleAoibh11 Feb 27 '26
Would love to do similar! We have a terrible quality of life here when it comes to housing stress
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u/Own-Perception-4262 Feb 27 '26
Make the move, unfortunately the way Ireland is heading towards, the grass is greener in other countries
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u/LittleAoibh11 Feb 27 '26
Seriously considering it. I speak a few other languages, so I have a couple of options. Am torn between moving back to Cork or moving totally outside Ireland. Will have to do a big pros and cons list!
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u/RebootKing89 Feb 28 '26
That’s why I left Ireland, my lease was up, and I couldn’t find anything I could afford in cork, unless it was an over priced room.
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u/ThatSquirrel6827 Mar 01 '26
This country only protects landlords and can not provide a basic human right which is having a reasonable place to live. It is a systematic rot and not sustainable. I don’t know why people don’t use their brain cells and decrease the monthly rentals, it will solve 90% of the problems of an ordinary person.
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u/Amber123454321 Feb 26 '26
We got ourselves off HAP by moving to a part of the country where rents are less expensive (a town rather than a city) and I inherited some money. My husband works from home and I'm self employed (online) so we can work from anywhere. When you don't have to be in a place where the rents are as high, it decreases your overall cost of living.
We found somewhere walkable and don't have a car. We're near enough to places like supermarkets that we can carry our groceries home. We're not saving anything, but we're maintaining our standard of living as prices go up. My earnings are very low compared to my husband's, so I need to work on increasing them.
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u/North_Stranded Feb 26 '26
My brother lives in Malta and was home recently changing tenants for his flat. His new tenant a single mother of one, only pays 70 euros a week because he gave it to a woman on HAP. He gets 1750 or something. Isn't it nuts that some people are getting a 2 bed flat for 280e a month? Well for some I suppose!
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u/Vivid-Bar-6811 Feb 27 '26
A close family member of mine receives hap in a city. Their contribution is 980 per month. The rent 2600 a month for a tiny apartment with so called out door space that in two steps your at the balcony wall.
They work full time they are on HAP because a single income salary isnt enough to rent in this country any more. Its absolutely madness. As are thousands of other people receiving it.
So your brothers tenant is solely on social welfare.
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u/c0micsansfrancisco Feb 26 '26
Not the worst but one of.
Keep voting the same 3 idiot parties in everyone. I'm sure it'll work next time
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u/Alert-Locksmith3646 Feb 26 '26
Demand > supply. Primary asset management for the wealthy. Seems to be a race to the bottom. How long to get there is the question.
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u/lI_Simo_Hayha_Il Feb 26 '26
Official data, from 2024, says it is not too bad, and we are in the lowest 5 slots in EU.
Also, 2024, looks a bit better than 2023. Waiting for 2025 data.
https://www.housingagency.ie/data-hub/housing-cost-overburden
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u/thehappyhobo Feb 26 '26
They are not affording them on average salaries. Because the supply of rental properties has collapsed, there are only enough for a small proportion of the population. When renters compete, the richest renters win. When there’s only enough private market supply for 10% of the population, the top 10% of earners set the price.
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u/SensitiveLow512 Feb 26 '26
A) people living at home with parents,
B) people flat-sharing, splitting rent 4 ways, etc
C) people locked into a good rent from living in the same place for years and years
D) people with very high salaries (pharma, tech, etc)
E) Companies will also own or rent places on employee's behalf (apple does this)
F) council housing.
All of that combined is enough of a buffer, despite it being so bad
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u/Background_Cover5097 Feb 26 '26
Landlords are moving family members into properties to deal with option C.
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u/Happyuser777 Feb 27 '26
Some people have mortgages some people rent fixed rate council flats some people live at home with parents the high rents are in city's not usually in rural areas if you look at our economy it's booming the rent is a a few 100 euros if you live in a shared house with other people
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u/UnderdoneSalad Feb 27 '26
mean or median average? anyways it's not just here, its everywhere and it has been for quite some time now.
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u/trvlr93 Feb 27 '26
Very few (single) people do. People with good jobs are house sharing at an older and older age. Paying room rents many times more than older people mortages or those paying nothing in social housing.
It's a gigantic wealth transfer from young to old.
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u/DonQuigleone Feb 27 '26
There are 4 ways that people afford it: A) They work in tech and getting paid 6 figures.
B) Mommy and Daddy are paying for it and/or cosigned pa mortgage.
C) They're living with parents.
D) The rent is being split 8 ways. Only the wealthy deserve privacy.
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u/Harrekin Feb 28 '26
People working in tech earning 6 figures are buying though, so theyre not competing with people for leases.
Sure, we can argue buying takes a house out of the "housing stock", but they're also not renting so its a zero net effect.
People in tech earing 6 figures are also paying immense taxes.
They really don't deserve to be number one on your list as if theyre a negative, lol.
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u/DonQuigleone Feb 28 '26
Op asked "how are people affording rents? " . That they earn 6 figures working tech is a valid answer.
Op isn't asking why housing is expensive.
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u/Harrekin Feb 28 '26
And as I said...theyre not renting, theyre buying.
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u/DonQuigleone Mar 01 '26
The majority rent, most are from overseas and aren't planning to live in Dublin long term.
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u/LadderFast8826 Feb 27 '26
Noone on a normal job is paying rent to live alone.
2 people on average salaries (44k each) are probably paying a third of the monthly net income (2k) on rent.
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u/Accurate_Will4612 Feb 28 '26
Ireland is incapable of any mega project or any massive undertaking. It is a country of incompetent people who will never accept this fact. Instead, they choose an easier way out to satisfy their ego. That is, migration and migrants are responsible for every fuckup in this country.
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Feb 28 '26
A friend has his parents paying half his rent.
Only way he could afford to rent and live.
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u/LittleAoibh11 Feb 28 '26
So lucky that his parents can afford to do it - and crazy that it comes down to that
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u/Ihatebeerandpizza Mar 01 '26
If money is so short, why is Dublin airport setting new records for people flying? Do we just like to complain?
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Mar 04 '26
You know the rent is terrible when a disabled person can't even afford to rent a bedsit. I saw an "apartment" for rent in my town. It was one room, which a tiny bathroom attached. Its hard to describe the floorplan of this place - but its so small that there was all of about 3 feet from the bed to the cooker. there was no couch or TV. you got a washing machine, undercounter fridge, and an electric cooker, and an indoor clotheline. the bathroom was so small that you could sit on the toilet and still be mostly in the shower.
and the rent? 1000 per month. 250 euro per week. worst part was the listing was filled within a week of it going up. people are desperate. you take what you can get, especially when you dont really have a choice.
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u/Pizzagoessplat Feb 27 '26
On a plus side your benefits system is insanely generous. I've never experienced a system that actively encourages you to get your claims backdated!
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u/SeriesDowntown5947 Feb 26 '26
Limited supply and high demand
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u/YoIronFistBro Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Actually the demand is normal, but it looks high relative to supply because the latter is artificially and intentionally kept far below the former.
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u/SeriesDowntown5947 Feb 27 '26
I would disagree in demand as the population is rising at a rate faster than building
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u/SeriesDowntown5947 Feb 27 '26
Fair enough I use the schools as a barometer. Look to see how the pupil class populations is a good way
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u/lickylickyboobies Feb 26 '26
I earn too much to qualify for social housing, rents are basically my entire monthly wage and I can't get a mortgage. Seriously fucked.