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16th August 2018
09:52am BST
92% of advertised rental homes are too expensive for people on rental supports and HAP schemes, a new survey has found.
The Simon Community's latest report found only 41 out of 530 properties around the country were affordable for people on rental assistance.
The study called, 'Locked out of the Market' was carried out between the 1st and 3rd of May with information from Daft.ie for Dublin city, Cork city, Galway city, Limerick city, Portlaoise, north Kildare, Athlone, Sligo town, Dundalk, Leitrim and Waterford city.
This total houses available marked a 54% decrease in affordable homes from the same study conducted in May 2015.
Only one property was affordable in Dublin city centre, while Galway city centre, Limerick city centre and Portlaoise has no properties to offer on Housing Assistant Payments/Rental Supplements.
Commenting on the results, Niamh Randall, spokesperson for the Simon Communities, said this was one of the main reasons people were becoming homeless and prevented from exiting homelessness too.
"The Government’s Rebuilding Ireland plan is heavily reliant on the private rental sector to deliver social housing through the Housing Assistant Payment (HAP) and this is problematic because the supply simply is not there. Our figures clearly indicate that increases in RS/HAP limits introduced in July 2016 are no longer effective. It is nearly impossible for people, particularly single people, to move on from emergency accommodation and homeless services because there is nowhere for them to go."
She added, "Many people in emergency accommodation are there because they have already lost their rented home. So many households are ‘hidden homeless’ doubling and tripling up with friends or relatives living with daily uncertainty, some not knowing where they will sleep tonight, next week or next month. People just cannot compete within this rental market."
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