Number of rental houses available in county Longford plummets to new low

There are just a couple of houses and nine apartments to rent in all of county Longford, according to a leading property website.

A search for houses and apartments on Sunday, February 15 showed there were just two houses available in the entire county priced at an average of €1,200 according to Daft.ie.

The four-bedroom house in Killashee and the two-bedroom house in Ballinalee are priced at €1,400 and €1,000.

There are nine apartments listed as being available for rent and at an average cost of €1,015.

Two of the apartments are in Longford town, two are in Ballymahon, two are in Newtowncashel and there is one each in Newtowncashel, Newtownforbes, Granard and Killoe.

The most expensive apartment is a two-bedroom apartment in Weavers Hall in Longford town priced at €2,000, while the least expensive is a one-bedroom apartment at Earl Street available for €700.

IPAV President Fintan McGill, a long-standing member of the institute of professional auctioneers and valuers (M.I.P.A.V) and a council member representing the Leinster area on the M.I.P.A.V panel, commented late last year on the worsening situation.

He said the scarcity of properties in county Longford and the challenges faced by house hunters was as 'bad as anywhere else and it's the worst I have ever seen during my time'.

In respect of short term lets Longford Town is one of only a small number of large town in the Midklands region exempt from the new laws brought in recently that will curb short-term lets.

The legislation means that property owners in towns that have a population of between 10,000 and 20,000 people are no longer required to get planning permission to provide commercial accommodation.

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