Daft tracks rents sought for properties coming to the market and the Residential Tenancies Board tracks rents being paid. They do not present the same picture. Photograph: Andy Rain/European Pressphoto Agency
The first thing to say about the Daft report is that it looks at properties that are currently being offered for rent on the open market, of which there were 2,200 on August 1st. It does not directly collect data on rents being charged for the roughly half a million other rental properties in the State.Information on what is happening to rents for these properties is available from the Residential Tenancy Board , which is responsible for regulating the rental market.
The Daft reports are a vital tool for someone looking to rent or let a property, but less so for someone trying to figure out what is going on in the bowels of the rental market.