Approximately 7 in 10 renters in Ireland believe they’ll probably never be able to afford to buy a house, while almost 9 in 10 say they worry, to varying degrees, about being able to afford their monthly rental payments.

This was the primary finding from the latest Taxback.com Taxpayer Sentiment Survey, which looked at the views of almost 2,000 renters nationwide. This comes on the back of the latest RTB Rent Index which reports that the national standardised average rent in the first quarter 2019 increased by 8.3% to €1,169 per month.

Approximately 64% of respondents replied that they ‘always’ worried about their ability to pay their rent, with a further 24% ‘sometimes’ worrying. Only 12% didn’t worry about their rent, which could be down to a person’s financial security, or indeed be more based on a personal attitude not to worry about it, regardless of financial position.

Commenting on the findings Mark Corcoran of Taxback.com said, "Renters are really struggling in Ireland, and most are caught in the vicious cycle of high rents - making it nigh on impossible to save for a deposit and therefore making a move from the costly rental market unattainable."

He added, "The feedback we received on this survey paints a picture of a cohort of people who have very little choice, and who are worried and anxious about both their short and long term future – with questions like “will I be able to pay next months rent?” and “will I ever be able to own my own home?” weighing heavily on their mind."

Source: www.businessworld.ie