The number of homes available to rent in Dublin was down by almost a quarter at the start of May compared with 12 months earlier, a new report from Daft.ie shows.The group’s latest report shows there were 2,374 homes available to rent nationwide on May 1st, a reduction of 4 per cent from a year earlier, but an increase on the 1,200 homes available on January 1st.The report, which details rent levels and the supply of properties available around the country, shows there was a marked difference between the change in availability in Dublin, where it was down 23 per cent year on year, and elsewhere, where it was up 29 per cent.There were 1,187 homes actively for rent in Dublin on May 1st, only slightly above the lowest total for May in a series extending to 2006. Availability is now roughly a third below the 2015-2019 average.In the four cities other than Dublin almost twice as many homes were available to rent as a year previously. At the same time, both availability and the total number of listings in the year to April were close to half the 2015-2019 average.Between July and January the number of homes put up for rent was 10 per cent lower than in the same period a year earlier.Listings have increased since January with more than 10,600 homes put on the market in February, March and April, up 13 per cent year on year. However, the recent increase in listings is only about half the size of the earlier decline.[ Rise in number of properties to rent but still below pre-Covid levels despite rule changesOpens in new window ]Trinity College economics professor Ronan Lyons, who authored the report, cautioned the increase in availability of homes to rent outside Dublin should be interpreted with care.“The rise in availability for full properties contrasts sharply with trends in the room rental market, where availability has fallen across all regions – with Dublin again hardest hit,” he said.“This divergence suggests the recent increase in full-property listings does not reflect a broad-based expansion in rental supply.“Instead, the pattern is more consistent with a timing effect. The delay between announcing, in June 2025, and introducing, in March 2026, the new rent control rules appears to have prompted some landlords to delay listing properties until the new regime came into force. “As these come to market, availability has increased, particularly in markets dominated by smaller landlords. Nonetheless, overall supply remains very constrained, and the recent increase is unlikely to represent a sustained improvement in rental availability.”In terms of rooms, the report shows there was a 1.9 per cent increase in rents over the quarter, which was the biggest three-month jump since 2022. Year on year, room rents were up 6.4 per cent, significantly above the 2.5 per cent increase seen in the previous year.The average monthly rent nationwide for a double room in a house was €806 in the first quarter. Room rents were on average 37 per cent higher than the pre-Covid level and 80 per cent above their Celtic Tiger peak.There were a total of 2,549 rooms for rent nationwide on May 1st, which was down almost 22 per cent on the same date a year previously. In Dublin, the number was just 1,006, which was a 31 per cent reduction on the same date a year previously. Availability of rooms to rent in the capital was down 44 per cent on the 2015-2019 average when typically 1,800 rooms were available to rent.