The RTB/ESRI Q1 2026 Rent Index reports a standardised average monthly rent of €2,335 for new tenancies in County Dublin and €1,960 for existing tenancies. These are dated measures of registered private tenancies, not today's available asking prices or the price of a particular apartment. Source: RTB/ESRI Q1 2026 report, executive summary.
Sources and explanation reviewed on 12 October 2026. The measured period remains January–March 2026.
One-bedroom and two-bedroom Dublin apartment figures
The report also separates apartments by bedroom count. Use the category that matches the home you are comparing.
| Dublin apartment category | New tenancies, monthly | Existing tenancies, monthly |
|---|---|---|
| One bedroom | €1,951 | €1,689 |
| Two bedrooms | €2,405 | €2,056 |
Source: RTB/ESRI Q1 2026 report, Table 4, printed page 27. All four values are standardised averages for the report's Dublin apartment categories. They are not room rents, postcode estimates or promises of available homes.
Understand the measure before using it
The RTB explains its Rent Index methodology: registration data is analysed by ESRI, with standardisation controlling for differences in the property mix. The report keeps new and existing tenancy measures separate. Its existing-tenancy category concerns continuing tenancies of at least one year.
Geography matters too. County Dublin is not identical to Dublin City Council's area. The report's new-tenancy figure for Dublin City is €2,301; do not swap that into a County Dublin comparison. An address described as 'Dublin' still needs its actual location checked.
An asking-price report measures a different stage from registered tenancy rents. Check its reporting period, geography, property categories and method before comparing it with RTB data. A change in one measure does not establish what a particular landlord will accept.
Compare current homes on like-for-like terms
For a current search, make a small table from adverts you can actually open. Record the original link, date checked, address or area, housing type, bedrooms, asking rent, bills included, available date and important missing details. Do not mix a bedroom in a shared home with the total rent of an apartment.
A fictional comparison illustrates the problem. Two adverts both say 'two bedrooms', but one has a second room you could not use as the workspace you need. Another includes a bill that the first excludes. Matching bedroom counts alone would miss those differences. Inspect the layout and written terms before calling one better value.
The Dublin rental search workflow covers the search through to viewings. Explore the MarketScout feature for area comparison in your Scout workspace, then test the exact route to your campus or workplace. A nearby place on a map does not establish a door-to-door travel time.
Turn the evidence into your own ceiling
Work from take-home income and your household expenses, including transport, bills, debts and a buffer. The official average is context, not an instruction to spend that amount. Use the Dublin living-cost worksheet and rent-to-income arithmetic to set your ceiling before testing current offers.
If suitable adverts are outside it, change a preference, housing type or search area deliberately. Do not assume an average guarantees stock below the figure or that a lower-priced advert is legitimate.
Averages do not establish a lawful rent
A market statistic cannot decide whether an individual rent setting or review complies with the rules. Use the RTB's current rent-setting guidance for a real tenancy and compare equivalent current adverts for the separate practical price comparison.
What if you need a room or another city?
The apartment table does not answer a room-budget question. Compare current room offers, inclusions and occupancy dates separately. For another city, use its own official measure and current adverts; Dublin figures cannot be transplanted into Cork, Galway or Limerick.
Explore Dublin rental search or create a free account for Dublin. If you are still choosing a destination, explore all four supported rental cities. HomeScout helps turn a brief into supported matches; verify the current listing and terms before applying.