New data reveals the grim reality of Mayo's rental market
With Mayo rents continuing to rise, a local auctioneer sees no end in sight due to the dearth of rental properties in the county.
Rents in Mayo have surged by 8.8% in the past 12 months, according the latest Daft.ie rental price report. A typical three-bedroom home in Mayo now costs an average of €1,543 a month, while two-bedroom apartments are commanding rents of €1,382. The average monthly rent of a double room in a shared house in Mayo stands at €604 per month.
There were fewer than 180 homes to rent in Connacht-Ulster on May 1, according to the report.
There are currently just 23 homes to rent in the whole of Mayo. Ballina has just three properties available to rent, while Castlebar and Westport have just five each within the environs of the town.
Castlebar-based estate agent Kevin Beirne said many landlords have left the market while those who have decided to stay have increased rents to market value following new rental rules.
The sharp spike in rents coincides with the new rent control system. A key feature of the new rules is the ability to reset rents to market levels when a tenancy ends.
“For a detached house in Castlebar you are looking at €1,650 to €2,000. Rents have soared because of the new rules,” said Mr Beirne.
He said the market is no longer lucrative enough for landlords due to the high tax rate on rental income.
“The rents are great but when you take 50% off it that’s a very high burden of tax,” said the auctioneer.
Mr Beirne said there have been instances where people living and working in Dubai or Australia are renting out properties they have purchased for themselves to ease their mortgage. However, this practice is not common enough to improve the lack of local supply.
“The investor is more or less non-existent now,” said Mr Beirne.
In Sligo, the average rent of a three-bedroom house was €1,607 in the first quarter of 2026, 12.8% higher from a year ago. Rents in Galway City were up by an average of 18% in the first three months of this year. The typical open-market rent of a two-bedroom apartment in the city was just shy of €2,300. Meanwhile, the average price of a three-bed house in the county rose by 10.5% to just over €1,700.
Roscommon rents were an average 3.7% higher in the first quarter of 2026 than they were a year earlier. The typical open-market rent for a three-bedroom house in the Roscommon is €1,527.
The latest figures from Daft show rents increased nationwide by 4.4% in the first three months of 2026, the largest quarterly increase recorded by the property website since 2002.
The government has said the changes will provide greater security for renters and boost supply while the opposition has said it will dramatically increase rent costs by thousands a year and lead to increased homelessness through evictions.
