Rented households approach the half million mark

Rented accommodation has continued its upward trend with 497,111 households renting, an increase of 4.7 per cent on 2011. This meant that renting was the tenure status for almost 30 per cent of all of occupied dwellings in the last census.

Renting from a local authority showed the largest increase, up 11 per cent from 129,033 in 2011 to 143,178 in 2016. The number of households which were rented either from a private landlord or voluntary body rose by 2 per cent from 320,319 in 2011 to 326,493 in 2016. 

The number of owner occupied households fell between 2011 and 2016 (from 1,149,924 to 1,147,552) which, allied to continued growth in rented accommodation, has caused the overall home ownership rate to drop from 69.7 per cent to 67.6 per cent.

This means that the home ownership rate has reached a level last seen in 1971 as shown in Figure 3.2. While the rate has decreased slightly in rural areas (84% to 82%), the percentage of urban homes owned outright or with a loan has fallen from 61.6 per cent to 59.2 per cent in 2016.

Map 3.1 Home ownership rates by electoral division, 2016

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Significant drop in mortgaged households

Census 2016 also reveals significant changes within the owner occupier categories .i.e. owned outright or with a loan or mortgage.

The total number of households with a mortgage was 535,675 in 2016, down by 8 per cent when compared with 2011 (583,148). In contrast, homes owned outright increased by 8 per cent (from 566,776 to 611,877). This was a reversal of trends seen in the 2002, 2006 and 2011 censuses where owner occupiers with a loan were the largest tenure category throughout the State.

Figures 3.3 and 3.4 show changes in the nature of occupancy within the urban and rural areas. The proportion owning urban homes through a mortgage or loan has fallen sharply from almost 40 per cent in 2006 to 30 per cent ten years later. In the meantime, renting has overtaken both homeownership categories to become the predominant tenure status in the urban towns and cities, rising from a share of 27 per cent in 2006 to 36 per cent in 2016.

In rural areas, almost half of all occupied dwellings were owned outright with a further one-third owned through a loan or mortgage, while the remaining homes (13%) were rented.

Interactive table: StatBank Link E1015

Age profile of home ownership 

Figure 3.5 charts the changing tenure status according to the age of the head of household in 2016. It shows that home ownership rises quickly among householders from age 32 onwards and continues to climb at a steady pace until reaching a plateau of close to 90 per cent near age 70. 

The age at which home ownership became the majority tenure category was 35 years in 2016. Prior to that age, more householders were renting rather than owning their home. In comparison to previous censuses dating back to 1991, the ages which marked the changeover between renting and home ownership were 32 years (2011), 28 years (2006), 27 years (2002) and 26 years (1991).

The point at which two-thirds of householders owned their own homes (with or without a loan) occurred at age 41 in 2016, while in 1991 the equivalent age for that particular milestone occurred at 28 years of age. The age at which the majority of householders owned their dwelling outright stood at 55 years in the last census, which has changed little since 1991 (56 years). 

Interactive table: StatBank Link E1016

Tenure by household composition

The status of tenure can vary depending on the composition of a household as shown in Figure 3.7.

Households which were occupied by a husband and wife only were the most likely type of household to be owned outright, along with half of one person households.

Around 55 per cent of households comprising a husband and wife with children had an existing loan or mortgage.

Rented households were more common for couples, while around 45 per cent of one parent households were paying rent. Among households consisting of unrelated persons, four out of every five homes were rented.

Interactive table: StatBank Link E1021

Decline in out of work households with mortgage

Figure 3.8 examines the present economic status of the head of household who owned their home with a mortgage between 2006 and 2016.

Households with a loan or mortgage which were headed by a person who was unemployed or looking for their first job numbered 14,757 in 2006. This figure increased significantly to 50,792 in April 2011, representing 8.7 per cent of all mortgaged households.

By 2016 however, the number of unemployed households with a mortgage fell by more than half (55%) to 23,087, and of these 11,355 did not have anyone within the household who was at work.

There were decreases across all counties in the number of homes with a mortgage where the householder was unemployed. 

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (2.2%) recorded the lowest proportion of mortgaged households with the head of household out of work in 2016. At the opposite end, Donegal had 7 per cent of households owned with a loan or mortgage where the head of household was out of work, making it the most affected county in the State.

Other counties which were most impacted by the householder being unemployed or looking for their first job were Wexford (6.3%), Cavan (6.1%), Offaly (5.9%) and Longford (5.9%).

Strong rise in Dublin rent

The average weekly rent paid to private landlords in April 2016 was €199.92, up from €171.19 (16.8%) in 2011.

Figure 3.10 shows the average rent paid per week to a private landlord at county level in 2006, 2011 and 2016. While rents fell across all counties between 2006 and 2011, there has been a notable rebound in Dublin as well as Cork and Galway cities over the last intercensal period. However for 18 counties, rents paid to landlords were still lower in 2016 than in 2006.

The highest growth between 2011 and 2016 occurred in Dublin City where there has been an average increase of 30 per cent in private rents. Rises in excess of 20 per cent were also recorded in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown (26.2%), Fingal (22.8%), South Dublin (22.7%) and Kildare (20.3%).

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, at €335 per week, had the highest average rent paid to a private landlord, followed by Dublin City (€275.77).

The average weekly rent paid to the local authorities between 2011 and 2016 increased in all counties, with the largest percentage gains occurring in Fingal (32.3%), Kildare (31.1%), Laois (29.1%) and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown (27.6%).

Interactive table: StatBank Link E1026

Almost 50,000 homes paid at least €300 per week in rent to private landlords

The total number of homes that paid €300 or more in rent per week to private landlords increased by 166 per cent from 18,485 in 2011 to 48,993 in 2016. Over 85 per cent of these households were in the Dublin region.

Figure 3.11 shows, for households where the weekly rent was €300 or more, the number of rooms in the household. There were 783 occupied dwellings in 2011 with two rooms which paid a minimum of €300 per week in rent. Five years later, the equivalent number was 5,609, a rise of over 600 per cent.

Map 3.2 displays the percentage change in the average weekly rent (including private landlords, voluntary bodies and local authorities) at Electoral Division level.

Map 3.2 Percentage change in average weekly rent by electoral division, 2011-2016

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