Market rents nationally rose by 4.4% during 2025, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie.
This is compared to an increase of 3.6% during 2024.
The average market rent for a two-bedroom apartment nationwide, between September and December, was €2,086 per month.
The research also shows that there were fewer than 1,800 homes available to rent nationwide on 1 February.
According to Daft, this is down 22% compared to the same date one year ago and is by far the lowest level of availability for this time of year in a series extending back to 2006.
The report found that the fall in availability is particularly acute in Dublin, where the number of homes to rent is down annually by over one third.
Market rents have now risen in 13 of the last 14 years and are one third above their pre-Covid levels and 80% higher than ten years ago.
The report shows that rents in the final quarter of 2025 were 11.4% higher in Galway city, 7.5% higher in Cork, 6.9% higher in Waterford and up 5% in Limerick.
While inflation accelerated in Dublin over the course of the year, it remains lower, at 3%.
"Widespread uncertainty about the new rent controls appears to have exacerbated ongoing supply shortages in the rental market," said Ronan Lyons, report author and Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin.
"Across the country, there have been steep falls in rental availability over the last year."
"It remains to be seen whether supply is holding off until new tenancy terms come in on 1 March or whether the change in rent controls has led to a further reduction in the stock of rental homes, as landlords sell up," Professor Lyons said.
