THERE WAS A slight increase in the number of properties available to rent across the country in June, but only 50 properties were available to rent for people accessing the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
The Simon Communities of Ireland’s Locked Out of the Market report is carried out on a quarterly basis to examine the availability of housing in the private rental market.
According to the latest report, there 934 properties were available to rent at any price across 16 towns and cities studied over a three-day period in June.
This represents a 39% increase from the 672 properties that were available in March.
Almost three quarters (74%) of the properties available to rent were located in Dublin, while Portlaoise had the lowest number of homes available to rent, with just three properties available.
Of the 16 study areas, these was a decrease in the availability of properties to rent in Athlone, Galway City Suburbs, Kildare, Sligo Town and Portlaoise.
50 properties were available to rent within a discretionary rate of the HAP scheme, an increase of 31 properties since March.
HAP is a form of rental benefit payment to assist lower-income households. A tenant’s main rent is paid directly to a landlord, with the tenant paying a differential rent to their local council. The tenants must cover their own deposit and no rent is paid by the council in advance of them entering the home.
Of the properties within HAP limits, 74% were located in Dublin, which has a discretionary HAP rate of 50% compared to 35% for the rest of the country.
Nine of the 16 areas had no properties available to rent within HAP limits. These were Athlone, Cork City Centre, Galway City Centre, Co. Leitrim, Limerick City Suburbs, Limerick City Centre, Sligo Town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city.
Single person households received an increased HAP rate to match what was available to couples in June 2022. The report found 16 properties within discretionary HAP rates for both single people and couples. The majority of these were located in Dublin.
For families with one child, there were 21 properties available within the discretionary HAP rate, while there were an additional 12 properties available for families with two children.
The majority of HAP properties for families were again located in Dublin.
Executive director at the Simon Communities of Ireland Wayne Stanley said that while the snapshot does show some improvement in availability, the findings “are a stark reminder of the disheartening difficulty that those experiencing homelessness face as they seek a way out of homelessness through the private rental market”.
“This Locked Out of the Market report found 50 properties available within HAP rates across the 16 areas, if local authorities give the maximum level of support,” he said.
“While this is an increase of 31 properties on the previous quarter, the proportion of HAP properties in relation to the general market remains very low.
“Just 5.4% of all properties available to rent examined in this study, are available within a HAP rate. For comparison, in 2021, on average, 27% of all properties examined in the Locked Out of the Market series were available within a HAP rate.”
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