NINE OUT OF 10 rental properties in Ireland were unavailable to recipients of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) last year, according to a new report.

“Locked Out of the Market”, a quarterly report by the Simon Communities of Ireland, found that while the number of properties to rent increased from October to December 2021, it’s still 51% lower than the number of available rental properties in December 2020.

There were 1,349 properties available to rent at any price within the 16 study areas – an increase of 33% properties available to rent at any price in the October 2021 study period.

There were 148 properties available within HAP limits, representing 11% of total properties available. This is a 22% decrease of the 190 HAP-suitable properties available in the October 2021 report.

Just five properties were available within standard HAP limits for a couple or one parent and one child. There were only two rental properties available within standard HAP limits for a couple or one parent with two children across all 16 study areas.

In a press statement, Wayne Stanley, the Head of Policy and Communications at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said: “Despite the overall increase in housing stock, we can see that the escalating lack of affordability is placing more and more pressure on the most vulnerable in the rental market. This is likely to affect those who are most at risk of homelessness and contribute to the rising monthly numbers accessing emergency accommodation.

“The distance between HAP rates and market cost means that topping up is rife and becoming more unsustainable. We see it across our food services where people come in for food and support the last week of the month as they don’t have anything left. We must respond with solutions that will prevent individuals and families from being evicted into homelessness.”

In a separate report published this weekend, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive found that there were 802 families and 3,133 single individuals in emergency accommodation in the capital at the end of last year. Some 1,891 children were living in emergency accommodation at the end of December 2021.

In December 2021, 46 families exited emergency accommodation into new tenancies, the report said. In total, 695 families exited emergency accommodation last year.