2 days ago
Homes available to rent on State HAP social scheme fall by nearly a quarter
The number of
homes
available to
rent
under the State's main social housing support scheme has fallen again by almost a quarter, according to new research.
The
Simon Communities of Ireland
(SCI) published its latest Locked Out of the Market report on Friday, which surveyed the number of properties available to rent across 16 different areas over three days in June.
It found just 32 properties were available to rent within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, a decrease of nine properties, or 22 per cent, since March 2025.
It found 978 properties were available to rent at any price, a 17 per cent reduction from the 1,178 properties available in March.
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The area with the biggest reduction in availability at any price was Dublin city centre, with 52 fewer properties than in March, followed by Dublin city north which was down 47 homes and Cork city suburbs, which was down 23 homes.
Ber Grogan, executive director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said the findings 'must act as a wake-up call for policymakers'.
The HAP scheme is a social housing support and it is paid by local authorities directly to landlords, with tenants then paying a rent contribution to the local authority.
Those approved for HAP must find a property on the private rental market that is within the HAP rent limits of their local authority.
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Local authorities have the flexibility to go above the HAP rent limits by up to 35 per cent if the tenant can't find accommodation within the limits. This discretionary rate goes up to 50 per cent in Dublin under the Homeless HAP scheme.
Despite this flexibility, there were no properties available in eight of the 16 areas surveyed – these include Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Co Leitrim, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre.
Some 22 of the 32 HAP properties available were found in Dublin, reflecting the increased flexibility there under the Homeless HAP scheme.
Just five of those 32 properties were available under the standard HAP limits, the remaining 27 were only available when using discretionary HAP rates.
Studio apartments were not included in the survey 'due to the inherent inadequacy of studio apartments as long-term housing solutions', the report stated.
It noted there were 27 studio apartments available within HAP limits during the study period. Only two of these properties were available within standard HAP limits.
Of these 27 studio apartments, 26 were in Dublin, and one was in Cork city suburbs.
Reacting to the findings, Ms Grogan said Ireland's rental market was 'failing those most in need'.
'We urgently need accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing, meaningful reforms to HAP rates, and a targeted strategy to prevent homelessness,' Ms Grogan said.
