All-time low number of properties available to rent within HAP limits, Simon Communities finds

Wayne Stanley, executive director, Simon Communities Ireland, said 'it is getting harder and harder to find rental accommodation in Ireland'. 

The Simon Communities of Ireland recorded the lowest number of properties available to rent within Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) limits last month.

In its quarterly Locked Out of the Market report for September, it found just 27 properties available to rent within the discretionary rate of the HAP scheme.

That is the lowest number of HAP properties recorded by the Locked Out series since it began in 2015.

The report found 901 properties available to rent at any price within the 16 rural and urban areas that are representative of the rest of the country over the three dates surveyed in September.

This is 33 properties or 3.5% less than the 934 properties available in the June 2023 report.

Half of the 16 areas had no HAP properties available to rent in any household category within standard or discretionary limits.

These were Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Galway city suburbs, Co Leitrim, Limerick city suburbs, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, and Portlaoise.

Some 673 (75%) properties available to rent at any price were located within the three Dublin areas studied.

Sligo had the lowest number of homes available with just three available over the three days.

Portlaoise had six properties available during the study period.

Nine of the 16 study areas experienced a decrease in the availability of properties to rent. These were Athlone, Cork city centre, Dublin city north, Dublin city centre, Dundalk, Galway city suburbs, Galway city centre, Limerick city centre, and Limerick city suburbs.

Executive director at the Simon Communities of Ireland Wayne Stanley said: “Our latest Locked Out of the Market report is further evidence of what the Simon Communities across Ireland are seeing on the front line of this crisis.

“It is getting harder and harder to find rental accommodation in Ireland. 

"This is one of the main drivers of the growing level of homelessness. 

"It demands a greater response from the Government, including in the first instance, an increase in the HAP rates.

“This is not a long-term or even a medium-term solution, but it would relieve pressure on those most vulnerable to homelessness."

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He said in the medium term the Government needs to work with local authorities to increase the allocation of public housing to those stuck in homelessness so that the number of exits increases.

He added: “The implementation of the Simon Homeless Prevention Bill to prevent homelessness in the first instance is long overdue.

“We all know that the answer to homelessness is more secure affordable homes.

“The best way for the Government to drive this change is to increase the targets for social housing to reflect the growing need and then ensure the funding and policy is in place to meet those targets.”

Under the current standard HAP rates for Cork city centre, a single person can claim for up to €650-a-month rent, as can a couple, while a couple or single parent with one child can claim up to €900 and a couple or single parent with two children can claim up to €925.

However, during the survey dates, there was nothing available within HAP limits.