THE NUMBER OF properties available to rent within the limits of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme has continued to fall this year, according to the latest report from the Simon Communities of Ireland (SCI).

The SCI ‘Locked Out of the Market’ report from September 2025 shows that just 24 properties were available to rent within any HAP limits, eight short of the number recorded in June – a drop of 25%. 

Of those 24 properties, 21 were in Dublin. The three that were found outside Dublin were in Kildare (2) and one in Dundalk (1).    

HAP is a social housing support provided by all local authorities that assists people with a long-term housing needs.

“The rental sector continues to fail those reliant on social housing supports in the private rental sector yet again,” said Ber Grogan, SCI executive director.

The report shows that “people on lower incomes simply cannot access affordable rental homes,” he said. 

SCI’s quarterly report examines the experience of people on a low incomes and dependent on HAP to access housing in the private rental market. 

The latest iteration looked at the availability of homes to rent over a three-day period in September 2025. 

The report found 833 properties were available to rent at any price in 16 different areas around the country that were surveyed, a 26% reduction from the 1,119 properties available in the September 2024 report.

The report looked at the availability of properties within the standard and discretionary HAP limits in four household categories: single person, couple, couple/one parent and one child and couple/one parent and two children.

Of the 16 areas surveyed, only five had HAP properties available to rent. 

There were no HAP properties available in Athlone, Cork City Centre, Cork City Suburbs, Galway City Suburbs, Galway City Centre, Co. Leitrim, Limerick City Suburbs, Limerick City Centre, Sligo Town, Portlaoise, or Waterford City Centre.