Mayo was one of 12 counties nationwide where rents soared above 10% in the 12-month period to autumn last year, a new study has revealed.

The latest Rent Index Report from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) assessed rental jumps between the third quarter of 2021 and the third quarter of 2022.

The study is used to measure price changes faced by people in the private rental sector taking up new tenancies and it found there was a 6.7% annual increase nationwide.

Meanwhile, the average rent in new tenancies was €1,482 during the third quarter (July to September) of 2022.

The 12 counties that experienced a yearly rental increase above 10% were Mayo, Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Kerry, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath, and Wexford.

There was big variations across the country with a rental reduction  of 0.3% in Kilkenny during the third quarter of 2022 compared to a year previously and a 16.5% increase in Kerry, the biggest growth.

Fourteen counties had average rents of over €1,000 per month in new tenancies month during the third quarter of 2022 and these included Cork, Carlow, Cork, Galway, Dublin, Kerry, Kildare, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.

The Rent Index is independently analysed by the ESRI and the report figures are based on new properties being rented for the first time, new tenancies in existing properties and new tenancies in properties that have not been leased in the subsequent two years.

A total of  19,539 private tenancies were newly registered with the RTB during the third quarter of 2022.

The €1,482.national standardised average rent is a €22 jump compared to the second quarter of 2022.

However, an analysis of the figures shows it is still a 6.7% year-on-year rise compared  to the quarter three average in 2021 of €1,389.

The average rent for new tenancies in Dublin City between July and September 2022 was €2,022 per month, and €1,476 in the Greater Dublin Area.

RTB Director Niall Byrne said annual registration is providing the RTB with “much greater visibility on rents for both existing and new tenancies”.

“This enhanced information on the sector will allow us to provide new insights and improved information to tenants, landlords and the wider public during 2023, while also providing additional data to inform the development of future policy for the residential rental sector,” he added.