Homelessness warning as charity Focus Ireland says Hap payments are not enough

Limits on the Government’s housing assistance payments (HAP) scheme are putting more Cork families in danger of becoming homeless, Focus Ireland has said.

According to the latest Department of Housing homeless figures for July, Cork has 820 adults who are homeless — the largest figure outside of Dublin.

Focus Ireland warned that unless measures, such as increasing HAP rates, are implemented to reflect current market rents, more low-income households in Cork will face mounting financial pressure. This will put them at greater risk of losing their tenancy and ultimately becoming homeless.

Focus Ireland research manager Daniel Hoey said the reality for many renters in Cork is that HAP rates have not kept pace with the rents that people are being asked to pay.

“As rents continue to rise, more and more households are having to bridge a significant gap between the support they receive and their actual housing costs,” he said

A Daft.ie report in May revealed that the average cost of renting a three-bedroom house in Cork city was €2,516 per month, up by €204 from 2025, and by €574 from 2024.

Across the eight different property types, in Cork city, the highest increase, at 21.3%, was in the price of a one-bed apartment (€1,806 per month), followed by a 19.3% increase in the cost of a two-bedroom house (€2,206 per month).

The cost of renting a double room in a house in the city at the end of March was €852, almost 6% higher than the national average of €806 per month.

Mr Hoey said: 

“What we are seeing is that tenants are increasingly relying on money that should be available for essentials such as food, utilities and childcare, simply to cover rent. While HAP remains a vital support, the growing reliance on large top-up payments is placing many households under severe financial pressure.”

Focus Ireland says renters across Cork are continuing to face some of the highest housing costs in the country, with many households forced to make substantial monthly HAP top-up payments just to remain in their homes.

“HAP was designed to help people access and sustain accommodation in the private rented sector,”said Mr Hoey.

“When the gap between HAP limits and actual rents becomes too large, the scheme becomes less effective at preventing homelessness and protecting housing stability.”

He continued: “Increasing HAP rates would provide immediate relief to thousands of households and help prevent families and individuals from falling into rent arrears or ultimately losing their homes.”

The latest Daft.ie rental report, published last month, highlighted that Cork has the second highest rent inflation in the country, with rents rising by almost 12% in the second quarter of the year.