22nd October 2024
Simon Communities of Ireland Concerned at Lack of Properties Outside Dublin
The Simon Communities of Ireland’s quarterly Locked Out of the Market report, from October 2024, shows 33 properties were available to rent within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme. This is a reduction of ten properties (23%) since June 2024.
The report found 1,119 properties were available to rent at any price within the 16 areas surveyed over the three dates surveyed (October 2024). This is a 5% reduction from the 1,178 properties available in the June 2024 Locked Out report.
HAP Properties
Like June 2024, in 12 of the 16 areas, there were no properties available to rent in any household category within standard or discretionary HAP limits. These were Athlone, Cork City Centre, Cork City Suburbs, Dundalk, Galway City Suburbs, Galway City Centre, Co. Leitrim, Limerick City Suburbs, Limerick City Centre, Sligo Town, Portlaoise and Waterford City Centre.
As seen in many previous Locked Out of the Market reports, the supply of properties within HAP limits are predominantly in Dublin. 25 (76%) of the total 33 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.
Just three properties were available within standard HAP limits across the 16 areas.
Lowest Number of Properties
Portlaoise and Sligo town had the lowest number of properties available to rent with just three properties available across the three days. Nine of the 16 study areas saw a reduction in the number of properties available to rent. These include Athlone (one property), Cork City Centre (two properties), Dublin City South (34 properties), Dublin City Centre (28 properties), Galway City Centre (three properties), Limerick City Centre (14 properties), Sligo town (seven properties), Portlaoise (one property) and Waterford City Centre (12 properties).
Studio Apartments
For the purpose of this report, studio apartments are not included in the overall figure for HAP properties. However, we note there were 29 studio apartments available within HAP limits during the study period. One of these properties was available within standard HAP limits. 26 of the 29 apartments were in Dublin and the remaining three were in Kildare.
Wayne Stanley, Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said:
“The picture of the private rental market in the latest Locked Out of the Market report is a continuation of the picture we have been seeing for a number of years now. For those reliant on a HAP payment, there is very few opportunities to secure a home, unless you have additional income to top up the payment. The Simon Communities are seeing the consequences of this when it comes to families and individuals having to stay longer and longer in homelessness. We are all witnessing the consequences in the monthly growth in the number of men, women and children in homeless emergency accommodation. The answers to this are there and spelled out in the recent Housing Commission report and in our own submissions to all political parties to deliver more public housing.”
Single People
Just two properties were available to single person/couple households through a standard HAP rate. One property was in Dublin City South, and one property was in Dublin City North. There were an additional eight properties available for single person/couple households within discretionary HAP limits. These were in Dublin City North (six properties), Dublin City South (one property) and Dublin City Centre (one property).
Couple / Parent with One Child
There were no properties available to couple/one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate. There were 16 properties available through discretionary HAP rates. Seven properties were in Dublin City North, five properties were in Dublin City South, two properties were in Dublin City Centre and two properties were in Kildare.
Couple / Parent with Two Children
There was one property available to couple/one parent households with two children through a standard HAP rate. This property was in Dublin City Centre. There were 22 properties available through discretionary HAP rates, 16 of which overlap with properties available to families with one child. The six additional properties were in Dublin City North (one property), Dublin City South (three properties), Dublin City Centre (one property) and Kildare (one property).
ENDS
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Aileen Gaskin
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