95% of properties available to rent out of reach for those on rent supplements

A study of the rental housing market has found just one of the 746 properties listed online is within the financial reach of a single person on rent assistance payments — and it was in Co Leitrim.

The analysis of the rental properties, conducted in November over a three-day period, was carried out by the Simon Communities, who said results proved that the provision of rent supplement was not an adequate protection against the risk of homelessness.

The report, ‘Locked Out Of The Market III: The Gap Between Rent supplement/HAP Limits and Market Rents’ is the third such analysis carried out by the Simon Communities.

It found fewer properties were available for rent overall — a 13% fall compared with the number available to rent in the study last August, and a 35% drop compared to the number of properties listed last May.

This most recent analysis found that 95% of properties available to rent were beyond the reach of those in receipt of rent supplement/HAP (Housing Assistance Payment).

It also found that 4.5% of all properties available to rent were at or below rent supplement/HAP limits across 11 locations in the November study period, and just one property was available to rent within the limits for a single person across all 11 locations.

Likewise, just one property was available to rent within the rent supplement/HAP limits for all of the four household types (Single Person; Couple; Couple/one parent with one Child; and Couple/one parent with two Children) in six of the locations, including Athlone, Dublin City, and Portlaoise.

Niamh Randall, national spokesperson for the Simon Communities, said rent supplement was “not fulfilling” its role of maintaining people in housing.

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