LAST UPDATE | 5 hrs ago

ONLY 33 RENTAL properties are currently possible to access with the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) discretionary rate in 16 surveyed local authority areas.

The Simon Communities of Ireland’s quarterly Locked Out of the Market report for October 2024 shows 33 properties were available to rent within the discretionary HAP rate, marking a fall of 23% since June.

In 12 of the 16 areas, there were no properties available to rent within either the standard or discretionary HAP limits.

The surveyed areas with no HAP-qualified properties were Athlone, Cork City Centre, Cork City Suburbs, Dundalk, Galway City Suburbs, Galway City Centre, Co. Leitrim, Limerick City Suburbs, Limerick City Centre, Sligo Town, Portlaoise and Waterford City Centre.

25 (76%) of the total 33 HAP properties were found in local authority areas in Dublin.

Only two properties were available to “single person/couple” households without children through a standard HAP rate – one in Dublin City South and one in Dublin City North. There were another eight properties available for single person/couple households within discretionary HAP limits, which were located in Dublin City North (six properties), Dublin City South (one property) and Dublin City Centre (one property).

There were no properties available to couple/one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate and just 16 properties available through discretionary HAP rates, almost all of which were in Dublin except for two in Kildare.

For couple/one parent households with two children, there was only one property available at the standard HAP rate (in Dublin City Centre) and 22 properties through discretionary HAP rates, 16 of which overlapped with properties available to families with one child. The other six properties were in Dublin City North (one), Dublin City South (three ), Dublin City Centre (one) and Kildare (one).

Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland Wayne Stanley described the situation as a “continuation of the picture we have been seeing for a number of years now.”

“For those reliant on a HAP payment, there is very few opportunities to secure a home, unless you have additional income to top up the payment,” Stanley outlined, adding that that families and individuals are spending longer in homelessness as a result.

“We are all witnessing the consequences in the monthly growth in the number of men, women and children in homeless emergency accommodation,” he said.