Homeless shunning rental properties

Hundreds of homeless families are turning down rented accommodation and are instead going into B&Bs and hotels in the hope of fast-tracking their offer of a local authority home, it has been revealed.

A total of 343 families re-fused to accept Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) in the Dublin area last year and instead chose to enter homeless accommodation.

A report has found that only 12 of the 750 families who were in hotels and B&Bs in March exited to HAP tenancies.