The average rent across the country is at an all-time high

Rental prices have hit an all-time high across the country.

The latest Daft.ie rental report has been released and it makes for grim reading for anyone renting around the country. The average monthly rent in Ireland is at €1,131, up €134 or 123.4 per cent on last year. As ever, rent is higher in Dublin - an average of €1,784 per month on the south side of the city, €1,690 in the city centre and €1,553 on the city's north side. The cheapest place to rent anywhere in the country is Leitrim, where the average monthly rent is just €517, likely less than one would pay for a single room in the capital. The report made an important distinction between 'sitting rents', which are control rents paid by people living in the same place year on year and 'market rents', the price people moving into new rented accommodation pay. "Market rents nationally have risen by just over 50%. However, sitting rents have increased by just 27%," the report notes. The new Rent Pressure Zone system which aims to limit rent increases could actually be making the housing situation trickier for renters because it only takes into account market rents, according to the report. The report ends on a sombre note, calling for more housing to be made available.

"The message from the rental market to policymakers is the same as it has been for over five years now: more supply is needed. Until policymakers understand why it costs so much to build a two-bedroom apartment here, compared to anywhere else in Europe, that's unlikely to happen."