Private sector rents were almost 9 per-cent higher at the end of September this year compared with the same period last year.

However, the latest Private Residential Tenancies Board quarterly index shows that Dublin rents are lower than they were during the peak in 2007.

Nationally rents have increased by 4 per-cent, with the rent for private sector accommodation across the country averaging at 901 euro, up from 830 last year.

Responding to the latest index the Director of the PRTB, Anne Marie Caulfield, says new rent controls introduced last month will have an effect: