More than 40% of tenants in Cork at risk of poverty after paying rent, study reveals

Risk of poverty once rent is paid rises to 57% for those receiving Housing Assistance Payment

More than 37,754 of the 210,754 households in Cork are at risk of poverty after rent/mortgage interest is paid — almost one in every five households. File picture

More than 40% of tenants in Cork are at risk of poverty after paying their rent, a study by Cork Simon Community has found.

It also revealed that the percentage at risk of poverty once rent is paid rises to 57% for anyone receiving Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

More than 7,500 households in Cork rent through HAP — approximately 20% of privately rented homes in the county. 

However, the gap between HAP limits and actual market rents forces many to make unsustainable "top-up" payments directly to landlords from less than €100 up to more than €1,000 per month.

"Rather than protecting households from poverty, the inadequacy of HAP to meet market rents is pushing many households further into poverty,” Sophie Johnston, who compiled Cork Simon's Home Truths report, said.

“The shortfall between HAP limits and market reality leaves households making impossible financial choices."

Working people are increasingly affected by the housing crisis, the report found.

Employed people applying for social housing from Cork City Council has risen from 28% in 2016 to 42% in 2024.

Among new HAP tenants in Cork City, 76% were employed in 2022, up from 54% in 2015.

Nationally, the proportion of people experiencing homelessness who are in employment increased from 9% in 2011 to 25% in 2022.

More than 37,754 of the 210,754 households in Cork are at risk of poverty after rent/mortgage interest is paid — almost one in every five households. 

Tenants renting with housing subsidies such as HAP are at the highest risk-of-poverty. 

Leanne, a Cork Simon service user, said: "I was paying nearly €100 extra on top-up direct to the landlord every week. That wasn't including my actual rent. 

"I was left with about €25 to live on. I've gone days without eating. I'm on medication, and there was one month I was trying to eat, one month I couldn't afford my medication. It was crazy."

Barry, who also contributed to the Home Truths report, was working a 40-hour week but was struggling to survive financially.

"It definitely started to leech over into my work life and then caused me to not be 100% in it all the time at work. 

"In this day and age, to be working full-time, to be doing your best, and to still not be able to live, like, that’s ridiculous.”

He lost his job, his sublet ran out, and he “just had to leave, kind of into nothingness". 

Cork Simon Community’s sixth Home Truths paper, The Home Stretch: The Risk of Poverty After Rent, draws on data from the CSO, the Office of the Ombudsman, and The Housing Agency.