Just 46 properties that fell within the HAP rates were available to rent last December.
The Simon Communities of Ireland’s quarterly Locked Out of the Market report, from December 2024, shows 46 properties were available to rent within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme. This is a 10% increase since September 2024.
The report also found 1,233 properties were available to rent at any price within the 16 areas surveyed over the three dates surveyed. This is a 7% increase from the 1,149 properties available in December 2023's Locked Out report.
HAP Properties
As seen in many previous Locked Out of the Market reports, the supply of properties within HAP limits are predominantly in Dublin. 37 of the total 46 HAP properties were found in Dublin. In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate; this is limited to 35% elsewhere in the country. The remaining HAP properties were found in Cork City Suburbs (one property), Dundalk (one property), Galway City Suburbs (one property), Kildare (four properties) and Waterford City Centre (two properties).
Studio Apartments
For the purpose of the report, studio apartments are not included in the overall figure for HAP properties. However, it was noted that there were 35 studio apartments available within HAP limits during the study period. Five of these properties were available within standard HAP limits. 34 of the 35 studio apartments were in Dublin, and the remaining property was in Kildare.
Tony Geoghegan, Interim Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said:
“The findings from the latest Locked Out of the Market report are stark, showing little to no improvement compared to previous reports. The trend is clear; HAP recipients are finding it increasingly difficult to secure suitable accommodation. Outside of Dublin is certainly a bigger challenge, with no properties available in eight of the 16 areas studied. While the new Programme for Government’s commitment to increased housing targets is hugely welcome, in the meantime we must prevent more people becoming homeless and also support people who are currently homeless to exit homelessness. In the past, the Private Rented Sector was one of the main avenues for people to exit homelessness. However, this is no longer the case. If the new Government is serious in addressing homelessness, then a dedicated homeless prevention strategy, that includes a strategy for managing the private rented sector, is urgently required.”
Couples/Parent with One Child
There was one property available to couple/one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate. This was located in Dublin City Centre. There were 15 properties available through discretionary HAP rates. Six properties were in Dublin City North, six properties were in Dublin City South, two properties were in Dublin City Centre, and one property was in Kildare.
Couple / Parent with Two Children
There were four properties available to couple/one parent households with two children through a standard HAP rate, one of which overlaps with properties available to families with one child. One property was in Dublin City Centre, one property was in Dundalk and two properties were in Waterford City Centre. There were 23 properties available through discretionary HAP rates, 8 of which overlap with properties available to families with one child.
