We've already seen what renting in Dublin is like, and it turns out that comedy sketch might not be too far from the truth. 

The cost of rent in Ireland has been on the increase for a while, and it turns out that is having a considerable effect on those who foot the bills all over the island. The National Association of Building Co-operatives (Nabco) recently conducted a survey and found that many people felt that they were in danger of losing their homes, and are expecting to be hit with rent increases soon. 

In Dublin, more one in three tenants (38%) were afraid that they would lose their homes, while overall, those earning under €20,000 were the most worried, with 45% of them saying they felt it was a real possibility that they would lose their accommodation. Dublin was the worst affected by the housing pressure, while the rest of the country was also feeling the pinch with 23% saying they thought it was a real possibility that they could lose their home. 

As it turns out, those fears are probably well placed, as 42% of Dublin tenants had seen their rent rise in the last 18 months, while a further 67% of Dubliners stating that they expected to see a hike within the next year. Nationally, just under 30% of renters felt that they would be forced to dig deep for another increase in the next 12 months. 

As if that weren't worrying enough, there might be very little room left to squeeze renters, as it turns out most people are spending a good proportion of their earnings on housing: those who earn under €20,000 were spending around 34%, while Dubliners had to budget 35% of their monthly income on rent.

These findings also showed that many tenants have no formal agreement with their landlord, around a third were unsure of their rights and 42% wouldn't know where to turn if they were in trouble. 

Overall, the figures portray a picture of most people being very worried about making rent and living in fear that their accommodation is at constant risk, which in turn may only serve to fuel the price increases and tighten the squeeze on tenants.  

Via The Irish Times