Are you worried about affording rent payments in an expensive rental market? Or are you just interested in learning how much of your monthly income should you really spend on rent? Renting in Dublin is expensive so lets examine how much you should actually spend.

How should I calculate Rent affordability?

It’s quite simple – you need to ask yourself whether or not you are spending more than one third of your monthly disposable income on rent. Anything above one third is not deemed affordable and you should reconsider your housing options. So how exactly do I calculate this you ask….see below.

What is actual Rent affordability equation?


Monthly Rental Expense/(Net Monthly Income minus Monthly Outgoings)

Monthly rental expense is easy and monthly income is simply your earnings after tax so what should you typically include in your monthly outgoings? The short answer is everything however we’ve listed the most typical top 7 outgoings below:

1. Financial obligations


Do you have any existing loans on car, houses, credit card debt etc? If so, add these up and make sure to include them. This is a non discretionary expense so it’s essential that you have enough cash to repay your loans.

2. Hungry or Thirsty?


We spend way more on food and drink than we realise. Make sure to list your average grocery spend, your daily coffee costs, your lunch expenses and the estimated cost of a night out in Dublin City if your partial to one!

3. What’s new on Netflix?


We all remember to include the boring bills like electricity, heat etc. but don’t forget to include all your subscriptions (on demand TV, online print media etc.)

4. Track your travel


Monitor your monthly travel costs on the Luas, DART or Commuter Rail Ticket Machine. You can check you travel costs online if you have a student leap card.

5. Social life


It’s important to explore Dublin with friends so don’t forget to budget in your nights out, cinema visits etc. Dublin has a lot to offer so don’t waste all your money on rent – enjoy yourself!

6. Phone and Internet


Don’t forget your phone bill and more importantly your app subscriptions. They add up fast and need to be factored in.

7. Everything else – check your bank statements!

The only true way of knowing how much you should spend on rent is to sit down and review your latest bank statements. The statements serve as a great reminder of where you spend your money. Phone bills higher than expected? Forgot about that online media subscription? Limit your surprises by a comprehensive review of your bank statements.

Still not sure how much you should spend or interested in learning more about the Dublin rental market? Email us at info@co-live.com for additional information.

Happy Renting!