THERE WERE JUST 14 properties available to rent within the limits of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme across 16 local authority areas last month. 

This is a decrease of 17 properties since December, according to the Simon Communities of Ireland’s quarterly ‘Locked Out of the Market’ report. 

It is the first report to be conducted by the charity since the government’s rent reforms came into effect on 1 March. 

The report found there were 1,070 properties available to rent at any price within the 16 areas surveyed over three days in March.

This is a 15% increase from the 929 properties that were available in the December 2025 report. However, it is a 4% reduction from the 1,119 properties available in March last year. 

The HAP is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. It subsidises rents on behalf of tenants by providing a portion of the cost to landlords. It is available in all 31 local authority areas.

The HAP rent limits for each local authority area are available here.

The report found that 11 of the total 14 HAP properties available to rent in the 16 areas surveyed last month were in Dublin. The other properties were located in Cork city centre, Dundalk and Sligo Town.

In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate. This is limited to 35% elsewhere in the country.

Areas with no HAP properties

There were no HAP properties available to rent in 10 of the 16 study areas last month. These include Athlone, Cork City suburbs, Galway City suburbs, Kildare, Galway city centre, Leitrim, Limerick City suburbs, Limerick city cntre, Portlaoise and Waterford city centre.

Eight of the 16 study areas had no properties available within HAP limits in either the December 2025 or March 2026 reports: Athlone, Galway City suburbs, Galway city centre, Leitrim, Limerick City suburbs, Limerick city centre, Portlaoise and Waterford city centre.

“The private rental sector remains out of reach for far too many people and the Simon Communities across the country are seeing the consequences every day,” the charity’s executive director Ber Grogan said.

“While changes such as six-year tenancies of minimum duration and limits on annual rent increases may provide greater stability for some renters, they fail to address the core issue – affordability, particularly for households relying on HAP.”

Provisions that allow rents to reset to market levels between tenancies or at the end of a six-year cycle risk widening the already significant gap between HAP limits and actual rents.

Grogan said the Ombudsman’s investigation into the HAP scheme had highlighted inefficiencies and inequities, and said its recommendations – including raising the maximum rent caps to reflect the current market – are “a necessary step forward”.

The Department of Housing has also commenced a review of HAP rent limits.

“HAP is imperfect and we are far too reliant on the private rental sector as a key piece of our homeless solutions,” Grogan continued. 

“Without an immediate adjustment that reflects real market rents, the private rental sector will continue to be a primary driver of homelessness.”

‘Deeply concerning’

Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan said the private rental sector “is effectively slamming the door on vulnerable people across the country”.

“That there were no HAP properties available across cities like Galway, Cork, Portlaoise, Waterford and my own Limerick is deeply concerning,” he said.

He called on Minister for Housing James Browne to expedite the HAP review move to increase HAP limits “immediately”. 

“The fact of the matter is that Minister Browne’s rent hike bill mean that this emergency will only worsen as the rent hikes caused by allowing landlords to reset rents to the market rate is going to cause rents to go up and up,” Sheehan added.