Investigation 002 · Dublin, Ireland
What does a Dublin flat really earn?
We follow one real two-bed flat in Dublin 7, sold in June 2026. Here is where its rent goes before it reaches an owner who lives elsewhere in the EU and paid cash, and what could make it less.
The short answer
Even in a good year, about a third of the rent never reaches you.
In our worked example for one Dublin flat, that third goes on the management fee, a letting agent, small bills and Irish tax1–6. So what comes back each year, as a share of the cash you put in, is well below the gross figure you usually hear1–9. Empty months, big repairs, a tenant who stops paying or an old rent that cannot be reset would make it less.
- 7.4%Gross: a year's rent as a share of the price, Apartment 30, Dublin 7, at the Jan to Mar 2026 average rentWorked out from RTB and Property Price Register figures
- about 4.8%What you keep in a good year, as a share of the cash put in, 2026 costs and taxWorked out from RTB, Revenue, CCPC and agents' figures
- €2,405Average rent a month, new tenancies, two-bed apartments, County Dublin, Jan to Mar 2026Residential Tenancies Board
- €396,900About this much cash put in: price plus buying costs, Apartment 30, 2026Worked out from Property Price Register, Revenue, Tailte Éireann and CCPC
01One real flat, and the figure you usually hear
Take one real flat: Apartment 30 in Park Crescent House, on Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin 77,11. It sold for €390,000 in June 2026, according to the Property Price Register, Ireland's official record of home sale prices7,11.
The selling agent's listing describes a two-bedroom, one-bathroom flat of 56 m², with an energy rating (BER) of E12,11. It was listed at €395,000, so it sold for a little under its asking price2,11.
Is that price unusual for its size and area? Four other two-bed flats of a similar size, in and near Dublin 7, sold between September 2025 and August 202612. Apartment 30's price sits inside their range7,11,12.
Registered sale prices, Apartment 30 and four similar two-beds
Apartment 30's €390,000 sits among four similar flats that sold for €355,000 to €406,000.
Source: Property Price Register, via Daft.ie and MyHome.ie; our own selection of four similar-sized sales, not an index2,7,11,12
See the numbers
| Flat | Registered sale price (€) |
|---|---|
| Apartment 30, Park Crescent House, 56 m², Jun 2026 | €390,000 |
| The Hardwicke, 54 m², Sep 2025 | €355,000 |
| The Richmond, 54 m², Jul 2026 | €360,000 |
| Blackhall Square, 58 m², Aug 2026 | €392,500 |
| Clipper Court, 50 m², Dec 2025 | €406,000 |
Three other flats in the same building sold for €361,000 to €374,833 between March 2025 and August 20267. Their sizes are not published, so we cannot compare them like for like7.
What rent to count
To work out what the flat earns, you need its rent, and that is harder to pin down. The seller's listing says the flat "was rented at €2,280 per month", but gives no date for it2. So we use an official figure instead.
Landlords in Ireland register their tenancies with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), and it publishes average rents built from them1,5,10. In January to March 2026, its average rent for a new tenancy on a typical two-bed apartment in Dublin was €2,405 a month1,10. That average covers all of County Dublin, not just Dublin 71,10.
Four ways to put a rent on a Dublin two-bed
| Where | When | Rent a month | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTB average, new tenancies | Two-bed apartments, all of County Dublin | Jan to Mar 2026 | €2,405 |
| RTB average, sitting tenants | Two-bed apartments, all of County Dublin | Jan to Mar 2026 | €2,056 |
| Asking rents on Daft.ie | Two-bed apartments to let, Dublin 7 | Early Oct 2026 | about €2,550in the middle; most about €2,200 to €3,100 |
| The seller's word | Apartment 30 | No date given | €2,280 |
Source: RTB Rent Index, January to March 2026; Daft.ie listings to let, early October 2026; the selling agent's listing for Apartment 301,2,10,13
The asking rents and the seller's figure sit either side of the RTB's average, and only the RTB's figure is both official and dated. So the rest of this article counts the RTB's average rent for a new tenancy1,10. The RTB adjusts that average for the mix of homes, so it is not an average of advertised rents1,10. On 5 October 2026 it was still the latest release10,14.
The gross figure
A year at that rent is €28,860, which is 7.4% of the flat's price1,7. This is the gross figure, often called the gross yield: a year's rent divided by the price, before any costs. It is not profit.
It is also a rough figure. The rent is a county-wide average and the price is one sale, from two different publishers1,7. But it is the number you would usually hear, and the rest of this article takes it apart.
02Buying costs raise the cash you put in
On top of the price, a buyer pays stamp duty, a solicitor, the land registry and a few searches8,9. Our example buyer lives elsewhere in the EU and pays cash, with no mortgage.
Stamp duty, the tax on buying a home, is 1% of the price up to €1 million8. It is the largest of the four costs, at €3,900 here8.
Together, the four costs bring the cash you put in to about €396,9008,9.
What buying Apartment 30 for cash costs on top of the price
Stamp duty is the largest of the four costs, and together they add a thin slice to the price.
- You pay these once, so they never come off the rent.
- Legal fees and searches are our assumption, in the middle of the CCPC's ranges.
Worked out from Property Price Register (price); Revenue (stamp duty); Tailte Éireann fee scale (land registry); CCPC ranges (legal fees, searches)6,8,9,15–17
See the numbers
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price of Apartment 30, registered sale, June 2026 | €390,000 |
| Stamp duty (1%) | €3,900 |
| Legal fees, with 23% VAT (our assumption) | €2,121.75 |
| Land registry fee | €700 |
| Title and planning searches (our assumption) | €160 |
These costs never come off the rent. But they add to the cash you put in, and that is what we measure the kept rent against.
Does that change the picture much? Barely. Measured on the cash put in rather than the price, a year's rent is 7.3% instead of 7.4%1,7–9. The bigger cuts are the costs that come every year.
How we priced the solicitor, the registry and the searches
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the state's consumer body, says legal fees usually run about €950 to €2,500 plus VAT9. We assume the middle of that range, €1,725, plus 23% VAT: about €2,1206,8,9,15,16.
The Land Registry is run by the state body Tailte Éireann. Its official fee to register a sale at €390,000 is €7008,9,17. Title and planning searches cost about €70 to €250, and we assume about €1608,9.
03The management fee is due, let or empty
Every owner of a flat in an Irish apartment block pays a yearly service charge to the block's owners' management company18,19. You pay it whether the flat is let or empty1,2,18,19. In most blocks, the fee also pays for the building's insurance20,21.
For Apartment 30, the seller's listing gives the fee as €1,900 a year2. Another flat's listing in the same development gives the same fee for 202622.
Is that typical? We compared it with eight two-bed flats for sale in Dublin 7 on Daft.ie, a property listing site, on 5 October 202622. This flat's fee was the third lowest of the eight22. That is our own small sample of sale listings, not an official statistic.
At the RTB's average rent, the fee is most of one month's rent1,2,10. It comes off the rent before tax: Revenue, Ireland's tax authority, lets a landlord deduct service charges from rental income23.
04An agent is not required, but you will likely pay one
No law makes a landlord in Ireland use a letting agent or property manager, even one who lives abroad24,25. But someone has to find the tenant, collect the rent and arrange repairs. From another country that is hard to do yourself, so our example assumes you pay an agent.
Dublin agents charge a share of each month's rent, plus VAT at 23%6,15,16. These are the fees they publish for letting and managing a flat.
We use the lowest fee we found published, 6% plus VAT, which is 7.38% of the rent6,26. In our good year that comes to about €2,130, a little less than one month's rent6,26.
These are published starting prices, not a quote for this flat6. We could not confirm whether agents charge extra to handle the tax for an owner abroad. Like the management fee, an agent's commission is deducted before tax23,28.
What changes without an agent, or with a dearer one? The table of other assumptions shows it.
05The small bills are the smallest slice
Three small bills come every year: local property tax, the tenancy registration fee and the landlord's own insurance. Together they come to about €620 a year, about a quarter of one month's rent1,4,5,10.
Local property tax is a yearly tax on homes, paid to Revenue. Unlike the other costs, it cannot be deducted from the rent before tax29.
Insurance is where the rules are easy to misread. Insurers say a separate landlord policy is not a legal requirement30,31. But the law does require a landlord to have the building insured and at least €250,000 of liability cover, where that cover is available at a reasonable cost30–32.
In an apartment block, the management company usually insures the building and recovers the cost through the service charge20,21. That is general practice, and we could not confirm what Park Crescent House's policy covers. So the landlord's own cover in the strip above is our own assumption4,5.
Local property tax and insurance in detail
For 2026, homes valued €315,001 to €420,000 are in band 3, which costs €333 a year4. Dublin City Council's local adjustment, its own change to that charge, is 0% for 2026, so the charge in the city stays €3334.
The band depends on the value the owner declares at 1 November 2025, not on a later price4. A June 2026 sale at €390,000 is evidence of the value, but the declared value decides4,7,11.
The insurance rule is in section 12 of the Residential Tenancies Act 200432. One large insurer's minimum landlord premiums are €105.04 for buildings and €85.28 for contents30. Those are floors, not typical prices, and we found no source for a typical premium.
06Irish tax follows you abroad
Living abroad does not take you out of Irish tax. A landlord who lives outside Ireland pays Irish income tax on rent from an Irish property33. They also pay the Universal Social Charge (USC), a second tax on income33.
In our good year, Irish tax comes to about €5,2201–3,5,6,23,28,29. That is a little over two months' rent, the biggest of the four slices1–3,5,6,10,23,28,29.
The tax is charged on the profit, not on the whole rent. The profit is the rent minus the costs Revenue allows23,28,33. The management fee, the agent's commission, insurance, repairs and the RTB fee all come off first23,28. Local property tax does not29.
How Irish tax is worked out in our good year
| A year | |
|---|---|
| Rent | €28,860 |
| Minus the management fee, agent, insurance and RTB fee | €1,900 + about €2,130 + €250 + €40 |
| Taxable profit (local property tax is not deducted) | about €24,540 |
| Income tax at 20% | about €4,910 |
| Universal Social Charge | about €310 |
| Irish tax in total | about €5,220 |
Worked out from Revenue (rates, allowable expenses); RTB Rent Index, January to March 2026; the seller's listing; Dublin agents' published fees1–3,5–7,23,28,29,33
Our figure assumes no other income in Ireland and no Irish tax credits, the amounts that reduce a tax bill1–3,5,6,23,28,29. If you qualify for credits, your Irish tax is lower34.
Irish tax rates, reliefs and how it is collected abroad
The two tables below hold the rates, the reliefs and how the tax is collected from an owner abroad. You do not need them to follow the rest of the article.
The Irish tax rules behind our example
| The rule | |
|---|---|
| Income tax | 20% on the first €44,000 of income and 40% on the rest, for a single person3. An owner abroad who claims no Irish tax credits still has the full €44,000 taxed at 20%3,28.So all of our example's profit is taxed at 20%. |
| Universal Social Charge (USC) | 0.5% on the first €12,012, 2% up to €28,700, 3% up to €70,044 and 8% above that3. |
| PRSI, Ireland's social insurance charge | None, for an owner abroad whose only Irish income is rent28,35. |
| Tax credits | Full credits for an EU citizen living outside Ireland, if at least 75% of their worldwide income is taxable in Ireland34. Otherwise, possibly a share of the credits, in proportion to their Irish income34.Our example claims none. |
| Rental income relief | Worth up to €1,000 in 2026, but owners who live abroad are in general not entitled to it36,37. |
| Furniture and fittings | If you furnish the flat, you can claim them against tax at 12.5% a year over eight years23,28.Our example claims none, because the flat's contents are unknown. |
Worked out from Revenue (income tax, USC, PRSI, tax credits, rental income relief, capital allowances)1–3,5,6,23,28,29,34–37
How Irish tax is collected from an owner abroad
The 20% a tenant holds back is tax paid in advance, and any extra comes back after the yearly return.
| What happens | |
|---|---|
| Two ways to pay | Appoint a collection agent in Ireland, or have your tenant hold back 20% of the rent and pay it to Revenue24,38. |
| The yearly tax return | If your tenant holds back 20% of the rent, you still file a yearly Irish tax return. If you appoint an Irish collection agent, either you or the agent files it24. |
| The 20% held back | Tax paid in advance, not the tax itself39. It counts toward your tax bill, and any extra comes back when the yearly return is filed39. |
| In our good year | €5,772 held back3,24about €550 more than the tax actually owed |
Worked out from Revenue (collection agents, tax held back by tenants, yearly returns)3,24,38,39
07In a good year, about two-thirds of the rent stays
Now take the four slices off a year's rent, one after another: the management fee, the agent, the small bills and Irish tax. What is left is what reaches an owner abroad in a good year.
Counted in months, about eight of the year's twelve months of rent are yours to keep1–9.
Where a good year's rent goes, our worked example
Four yearly costs take about a third of the rent; about €19,000 stays with the owner.
Worked out from RTB Rent Index; the seller's listing; Dublin agents' published fees; Revenue1–10,23,26,28,29
See the numbers
| Item | Euros a year |
|---|---|
| A year's rent | €28,860 |
| Management fee | −€1,900 |
| Letting agent, 6% plus VAT | −€2,129.87 |
| Small yearly bills | −€623 |
| Irish tax | −€5,218.65 |
| What you keep | €18,988.48 |
That gap between the rent and what you keep is money that leaves every year, even when nothing goes wrong1–6.
Now set it against the figure you usually hear. A year's rent is 7.4% of the price, but what you keep is about 4.8% of the cash you put in1–9.
The figure you usually hear, and what you keep
After the yearly costs and Irish tax, the gross 7.4% becomes about 4.8% of the cash put in.
Worked out from RTB Rent Index, January to March 2026; Property Price Register; Revenue1–9
See the numbers
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| A year's rent as a share of the price, before any costs | 7.4% |
| What you keep in a good year, as a share of the cash put in | about 4.8% |
What if one assumption changes
What you keep is a year's rent minus the four slices in the chart above. That figure depends on our assumptions. The table shows what happens when one of them changes and everything else stays the same.
How what you keep changes with one assumption
| What changes | What you keep | |
|---|---|---|
| Our good year | RTB average rent for a new tenancy, agent at 6% plus VAT, insurance €250 | about 4.8% |
| No letting agent | You manage the flat yourself | 5.2%about €20,650 a year |
| A dearer agent | 7% plus VAT instead of 6% plus VAT | 4.7% |
| Dearer insurance | €500 a year instead of €250 | 4.7% |
| The seller's rent | €2,280 a month, if the seller's figure is right | 4.5%about €17,900 a year; gross 7.0% |
| A sitting tenant's rent | €2,056 a month, the RTB's Dublin average for existing tenancies | 4.0%about €15,960 a year |
Worked out from RTB Rent Index, January to March 2026; the seller's listing; Dublin agents' published fees; Revenue1–9,15
A dearer agent or dearer insurance moves the result only a little. The rent moves it most, which is why the next section matters.
08A bought flat may keep its old rent
A flat you buy may come with its old rent, because of rent rules that took effect on 1 March 202632,40. They apply when a landlord ended the flat's last tenancy, in the previous two years, because they intended to sell32,40.
The next tenancy then cannot start at market rent, the going rate for a new letting32,40. Instead, its rent is set from the last rent and the date that rent was last set32,40.
The rule follows the flat. The law ties it to the flat's last tenancy, not to who owns it, and lists no exception for a change of owner32. So, as we read it, buying the flat does not reset the rent32,40. No RTB page or court says this in so many words, so it is our reading of the Act.
The seller's listing gives no date for Apartment 30's last rent, and we could not find out why its last tenancy ended2. So the rule may apply to it.
How common are tenancies ended for a sale? In April to June 2026, 2,023 notices ending a tenancy, sent to the RTB, gave the landlord's intention to sell as the reason41. That was just over half (50.2%) of all such notices41.
These are notices, not completed sales. In the same quarter, the number of registered private tenancies in Ireland still rose 1.5% on a year earlier41.
What an older rent would do to the year
Across Dublin, sitting tenants in two-bed apartments paid an average of €2,056 a month in January to March 2026, €349 less than new tenants1.
At that rent, our example owner would keep about €15,960 a year, or 4.0% of the cash put in1,3–6. That is an illustration with an average, not this flat's old rent.
How fast the rent can rise later
Once a tenant is in, rises are slow. For an older flat like this one, while the same tenant stays the rent can rise only once a year, by 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower40.
A new tenancy can be reset to market rent after six years40. New apartments whose building work began after 10 June 2025 follow a different rule: they rise with inflation, with no 2% cap40.
09What could make it less
The good year leaves out costs that do not come every year. They are real, but no source we found gives most of them a size. So they are named here, and not taken off the rent.
- Empty months. Each month a flat stands empty loses that month's rent, and the management fee is still due1,2,18. Some agents charge from €600 plus VAT to find a new tenant15. We found no credible recent figure for how long Dublin flats stand empty between tenants.
- Bigger repairs. Repairs can be deducted before tax, but improvements cannot23,29. We found no source for the typical cost of repairs on a Dublin rented flat.
- A tenant who stops paying. In 2025, an RTB adjudication took 20 weeks on average to be decided42. An adjudication is the RTB's formal hearing of a dispute, such as unpaid rent42. Enforcing the decision can take longer42.
- The flat's price. It can go up or down by the time you sell. Dublin apartment prices rose 6.8% in the year to July 2026, according to the Central Statistics Office43. That is history, not a forecast.
What depends on you
- Tax where you live. Tax treaties such as Ireland's with Germany let Ireland tax rent from an Irish property33. So a treaty usually does not remove the Irish income tax or USC33. Any relief comes from your home country, and how much depends on its treaty with Ireland33. We read only the treaty with Germany.
- Irish tax credits. If you qualify for some, your Irish tax is lower than in our example34.
The page lists every figure we could not verify, such as the flat's own dated rent and a typical insurance premium. Every figure we did use is in the sources.
10So who might a Dublin flat suit?
It depends on what you need the flat to do. In a good year about two-thirds of the rent stays with you, and the cards show how that plays out in a few situations1–6. They are scenarios from the figures, not advice.
A steady income
Possible, with savings behind it
about 4.8%of the cash put in, kept in a good year
You would need savings to carry an empty month, or a dispute that takes 20 weeks on average to be decided42.
Rent that rises fast
The rules work against it
2%the yearly cap while the same tenant stays, or inflation if lower
For an older flat like this one, while the same tenant stays the rent can rise only once a year40.
To manage it yourself from abroad
More kept, more work
5.2%of the cash put in, kept in a good year without an agent
But you would find tenants and handle repairs from another country1–5.
A flat emptied for the sale
It may keep its old rent
4.0%kept, at Dublin's average rent for sitting tenants
As we read the law, buying the flat does not reset the rent32,40.
An owner taxed at home too
Depends on your country
Any relief comes from your home country, and how much depends on its treaty with Ireland33.
A real flat's figures will differ from this worked example. For one flat, these are the things to check.
- Its own rent, with a date, and why its last tenancy ended
- Its management fee, and what the block's insurance covers
- The value declared for its local property tax
- The agent's published fee, and whether it charges extra to handle tax for an owner abroad
- Your own tax position: Irish tax credits, and your home country's treaty with Ireland
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Video chapters
Figures we could not verify
- This flat's own rentThe only figure is the selling agent's undated statement that the flat "was rented at €2,280 per month". The video uses the official Dublin average for a new two-bed tenancy instead. If the seller's figure is right, the gross figure is 7.0% and the owner keeps about €17,900, or 4.5% of the cash put in (our arithmetic).
- Why and when this flat's last tenancy endedNothing public says, so we cannot tell whether the two-year rule on rent after a sale applies to it.
- A typical landlord insurance premium for a Dublin flat, and what the block's own policy coversNo published premium for a rented Dublin flat was found. The worked year assumes €250 a year for the landlord's own cover; at €500 the kept share is 4.7% of the cash put in.
- How long Dublin flats stand empty between tenants, and what bigger repairs costNo credible 2025 or 2026 figure exists, so the video names these risks without a size.
- Tax treaties other than Ireland's with GermanyWe read only that treaty, so the video says only that a treaty usually will not remove the Irish tax and that any relief comes from the owner's home country.
- Whether a letting agent charges extra to handle tax for an owner abroadNo published fee covers this. The agent's cost in the video is one of the lowest published fees; at a higher fee the kept share is about 4.7%, and without an agent it is about 5.2%.
- Tax credits and other Irish incomeThe worked year assumes no other Irish income and no tax credits. An EU citizen may be entitled to a share of the credits, which would lower the tax.
Sources
Show all 43 sourcesHide the sources
Case summary
- 1Residential Tenancies Board and the Economic and Social Research Institute. Rent Index report: average rents across registered new and existing tenancies.Quarterly, January to March 2026rtb.ie/wp-content/…/09/RTB-Rent-Index-Q1-2026.pdf
- 2The flat's selling agent, through the MyHome.ie listing. The sale listing for Apartment 30, with its yearly management fee and a statement of an earlier rent (a seller's claim, not a verified figure).Listing created 11 March 2026; the period of the rent it mentions is not givenmyhome.ie/…/4984941
- 3Revenue Commissioners. Budget 2026 summary: income tax bands and Universal Social Charge rates.Tax year 2026, rates from 1 January 2026revenue.ie/en/…/2026/budget-summary.pdf
- 4Revenue Commissioners. Local Property Tax: valuation bands and rates.Valuation period 2026 to 2030, with 2026 local adjustmentsrevenue.ie/en/…/valuing-your-property/valuation-bands-rates.aspx
- 5Residential Tenancies Board. The fee for registering a tenancy.Current yearly fee, as of October 2026rtb.ie/register-tenancies/…/register-a-tenancy/registration-fees
- 6Brock Delappe. A Dublin agent's published letting and management fees.Live page, as of October 2026brockdelappe.ie/let-with-us
- 7MyHome.ie, copying Ireland's Property Price Register. The registered sale price of Apartment 30, Park Crescent House, Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7.Sale on 17 June 2026myhome.ie/priceregister/30-park-crescent-house-blackhors…
- 8Revenue Commissioners (Ireland's tax authority). Stamp duty rates on residential property purchases.Rates in force from 2 October 2024, as of October 2026revenue.ie/en/…/stamp-duty-property/rates.aspx
- 9Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (Ireland's consumer regulator). Guidance on the costs of buying a home, including solicitor and search fees.Current guidance, as of October 2026ccpc.ie/manage-your-money/…/about-mortgages/understanding-mortgages
- 10Residential Tenancies Board and the Economic and Social Research Institute. The Rent Index page, listing the latest release of average rents.Latest release, January to March 2026, as of 5 October 2026rtb.ie/data-insights/…/rtb-research-reports/rtb-esri-rent-index
One real flat, and the figure you usually hear
- 11Daft.ie, copying Ireland's Property Price Register. Registered sale prices of apartments in Cabra, Dublin.Sales in 2025 and 2026, page as of October 2026daft.ie/sold-properties/cabra-dublin/apartments
- 12Daft.ie, copying Ireland's Property Price Register. Registered sale prices of two-bed apartments sold in Dublin 7 and a few neighbouring areas.Sales from November 2024 to September 2026daft.ie/sold-properties/dublin-7-dublin/apartments
- 13Daft.ie (listings read by Plotline). Our own sample of two-bed apartments for sale in Dublin 7 with their management fees, and two-bed flats to let in Dublin.Asking figures read on 5 October 2026daft.ie/property-for-sale/dublin-7-dublin/apartments
- 14Residential Tenancies Board and the Economic and Social Research Institute. The Rent Index data set: average rents by county, type of home and type of tenancy.Quarterly, January to March 2026rtb.ie/data-insights/…/rtb-data-hub/rtb-esri-rent-index-data-set
Buying costs raise the cash you put in
- 15Property Vision. A guide to what a letting agent does and what Irish agents typically charge.Published November 2025, as of October 2026propertyvision.ie/what-does-a-letting-agent-do-and-what-…
- 16Bank of Ireland. A bank's buy-to-let mortgage page, used only to confirm that a solicitor's fee carries 23% VAT.As shown on 28 September 2026personalbanking.bankofireland.com/borrow/…/mortgages/buy-to-let
- 17Tailte Éireann (Ireland's land registry and mapping authority). The land registry's scale of fees for registering ownership.Fees order of 2012, in force in 2026tailte.ie/land-registration-schedule-of-fees-fees-order-2012
The management fee is due, let or empty
- 18Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. Guidance on an apartment owner's duty to pay the management fee.Undated page, available in October 2026scsi.ie/i-cannot-pay-back-all-my-management-fees
- 19Recording Law. A guide to management company fees and service charges for apartment owners in Ireland.Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 as it applies in 2026recordinglaw.com/ireland/…/everyday-law/management-company-fees
- 20CompareInsurance.ie. A guide to apartment insurance, with a quote exercise for a two-bed Dublin 7 flat.Quote exercise of July 2026compareinsurance.ie/home-insurance/apartment-insurance
- 21Allianz Ireland. A guide to the insurance an apartment owner needs.Undated page, available in October 2026allianz.ie/…/what-insurance-do-i-need-if-i-live-in-an-apartment.html
- 22A Dublin estate agent, through a Daft.ie listing. The sale listing for Apartment 37 in the same development, stating its 2026 management fee.Listing of September 2026, fee stated for 2026daft.ie/…/6669063
- 23Revenue Commissioners. Which expenses can be taken off Irish rental income.Rules in force in 2026revenue.ie/en/…/irish-rental-income/what-expenses-are-allowed.aspx
An agent is not required, but you will likely pay one
- 24Revenue Commissioners. The tax obligations of landlords who live outside Ireland.Rules in force in 2026revenue.ie/…/tax-obligations-non-resident-landlords.aspx
- 25Earnest. A guide to what property management costs in Dublin.Guidance for 2026, as of October 2026earnest.ie/property-management-dublin
- 26Hybrid Property. A Dublin firm's published property management services and fees.Live page, as of October 2026hybridproperty.ie
- 27Casey Kennedy Estate Agents. A Dublin letting agent's guide to the fees letting agents charge.Undated page, live in October 2026ckp.ie/…/what-fees-do-letting-agents-charge
- 28Revenue Commissioners. Guide to completing the Pay and File income tax return, including how rental profit is worked out.Income of 2025, returns filed in 2026revenue.ie/en/…/documents/guide-pay-file.pdf
The small bills are the smallest slice
- 29Revenue Commissioners. Which expenses cannot be taken off Irish rental income.Current guidance, as of October 2026revenue.ie/…/what-expenses-are-not-allowed.aspx
- 30Allianz Ireland. A landlord insurance product page.Live page, as of 5 October 2026allianz.ie/products/home/landlord-insurance.html
- 31An Post Insurance. A guide to landlord's insurance in Ireland.Live page, as of 5 October 2026anpostinsurance.ie/home-insurance/landlords-insurance
- 32Law Reform Commission (Ireland). The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 as amended, including the rules on rent and on tenancies ended for a sale.Consolidated up to 1 March 2026revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/2004/act/27/revised/en/html
Irish tax follows you abroad
- 33Revenue Commissioners. The Revenue manual on the taxation of landlords who are not resident in Ireland.Manual reviewed January 2026revenue.ie/en/…/part-45/45-01-04.pdf
- 34Revenue Commissioners. Tax and tax credits for people who are not resident in Ireland.Current guidance, as of 5 October 2026revenue.ie/en/…/tax-residence/non-residents.aspx
- 35RSM Ireland. A tax adviser's guide to holding Irish real estate from abroad.Tax guidance for 2026rsm.global/…/holding-irish-real-estate-2026
- 36Revenue Commissioners. Rental income relief for residential landlords and who can claim it.Rules in force in 2026revenue.ie/en/…/part-15/15-03-04.pdf
- 37Revenue Commissioners. How much rental income relief a landlord can claim.Relief for 2026 and 2027, as of 5 October 2026revenue.ie/en/…/rprir/how-much-can-you-claim.aspx
- 38Revenue Commissioners. How tax on rent is collected from a landlord who lives abroad, through a collection agent.Current guidance; collection agent changes in effect from 1 July 2023revenue.ie/en/…/non-resident-landlords/collection-agent.aspx
- 39Revenue Commissioners. The Revenue manual on withholding tax for non-resident landlords.Current manual, read in September 2026revenue.ie/en/…/part-45/45-01-04a.pdf
A bought flat may keep its old rent
- 40Residential Tenancies Board (Ireland's tenancy regulator). The rules for setting and reviewing private rents, including the yearly cap and the limit on resetting rent after a sale.In force from 1 March 2026rtb.ie/renting/setting-and-reviewing-private-rents-from-1-march-2026
- 41Residential Tenancies Board. The board's quarterly update on the rental sector: termination notices, registered tenancies and rents.Termination notices and tenancies for April to June 2026; rents for January to March 2026rtb.ie/…/rtb-issues-directors-quarterly-update-on-rental-sector-sept
What could make it less
- 42Residential Tenancies Board. Guide to the board's dispute process, including the average time to a decision.Average for 2025rtb.ie/disputes/guide-to-adjudication
- 43Central Statistics Office (Ireland). Residential Property Price Index, with prices and transaction counts.Through July 2026, with medians for the preceding twelve monthscso.ie/en/…/p-rppi/residentialpropertypriceindexjuly2026
Where the video says "our sum" or "Plotline's sum", we worked a figure out from one publisher's own numbers for one period.
The worked year counts a good year: the flat is let for all twelve months and only costs that come every year are taken off. It is not a forecast and not a typical year.
The Rent Index averages are for all of County Dublin, not for Dublin 7, and are not a rent anyone is guaranteed to get for one flat.
Photo, footage and map credits
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Photos and film clips
Numbered in the order the video first shows them, as in the video's description.
- 1, 5Darren J. Prior, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackhorse_Avenue_bilingual_road_sign_(2024).jpg (cropped and colour-graded)
- 2, 4Laurel Lodged, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:09_Blackhorse_Avenue,_Ca… (cropped and colour-graded)
- 3, 6Laurel Lodged, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:08_Blackhorse_Avenue_ent… (cropped and colour-graded)
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This page lists public figures and where they come from; it is not financial, tax or legal advice. Prices are asking prices from listings unless stated, and they change. See our disclaimer.