The number of homes available to rent under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme limits has fallen to the lowest level on record.
The latest Simon Communities of Ireland 'Locked Out of the Market' quarterly report found just 27 properties were available to rent within standard or discretionary HAP scheme limits, the lowest since it began recording snapshot HAP studies in August 2015.
The report looks at rental properties available for rent on Daft.ie over three days in September in 16 areas (Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Dublin city centre, Dublin city north, Dublin city south, Galway city centre, Galway city suburbs, Limerick city centre, Limerick city suburbs, Portlaoise, selected areas within Kildare, Athlone, Sligo Town, Dundalk and Co Leitrim).
As with previous reports it found most properties within HAP limits were predominantly available in Dublin, with 16 (59%) of the total 27 HAP properties found in the three Dublin areas examined.
The report notes that Dublin has a discretionary HAP rate of 50% compared to 35% for the rest of the country.
The authors found just three properties that fell within standard HAP limits and an additional eight that fell within discretionary limits for both single people and couples (these rates have been the same since June 2022).
The remaining 16 properties fell within discretionary HAP rates for families with one or two children.
The latest report found that eight of the 16 areas examined did not have a single property that would qualify for HAP available to rent.
These were Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Galway city suburbs, Co Leitrim, Limerick city suburbs, Limerick city centre, Sligo town and Portlaoise.
The total number or rental properties available to rent at any price was also down, dropping from 934 in June's Locked Out Report to 901 in this one.
75% (673) of all properties available to rent were located within the three Dublin areas studied, the report found.
Sligo had the lowest number of homes available to rent with just three properties available over the three days, while Portlaoise had six properties available during the study period.
Nine of the sixteen study areas also experienced a decrease in the number of properties available to rent.
These were Athlone, Cork city centre, Dublin city north, Dublin city centre, Dundalk, Galway city suburbs, Galway city centre, Limerick city centre and Limerick city suburbs.
The Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland Wayne Stanley said that the report was "further evidence for what the Simon Communities across Ireland are seeing on the front line of this crisis: It is getting harder and harder to find rental accommodation in Ireland" and "this is one of the main drivers of the growing level of homelessness in Ireland".
"It demands a greater response from Government, including in the first instance, an increase in the HAP rates. This is not a long-term or even a medium-term solution, but it would relieve pressure on those most vulnerable to homelessness," Mr Stanley said.
"In the medium term, we need to see the Government working with local authorities to increase the allocation of public housing to those stuck in homelessness so that we see the number of exits increasing.
"The implementation of the Simon Homeless Prevention Bill to prevent homelessness in the first instance is long overdue," he said.
"We all know that the answer to homelessness is more secure affordable homes. The best way for Government to drive this change is to increase the targets for social housing to reflect the growing need and then ensure the funding and policy is in place to meet those targets," Mr Stanley said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland Mr Stanley said that at least 15,000 houses a year need to be allocated to people on the housing list.
Responding to today's report, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing said that the "Government have been very clear that our firm desire is to reduce our reliability on HAP as we significantly scale up the delivery of new social homes".
"Since 2020 approx. 14,000 households exited from HAP to other forms of social housing provided by local authorities and AHBs (Approved Housing Bodies)," the Department said.
"Government recognises that the supply in the rental market is very constrained, however, it is important to note that an average of 160 new HAP tenancies have been created each week in 2023.
"An allocation of €525 million for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) will enable 8,800 new households to be supported in a tenancy in 2024 as well as continuing to support almost 58,000 households in tenancies at the end of 2023," the spokesperson said.
Socialist Party TD Mick Barry said this morning that the Government's HAP scheme "no longer bears any relationship with the realities of the rental market and that HAP limits urgently need to be increased".
"When we are told that there wasn't a single property available to rent in September in either Cork city centre or Cork city suburbs that came in below the Housing Assistance Payments limit then we know that there is something seriously wrong going on," Mr Barry.
"I would support (increasing HAP limits) while at the same time campaigning for cuts to rent and a rent freeze and for a massive increase in the supply of social and affordable housing provided by the State," Mr Barry said.
