Families are homeless for longer due to shortage of affordable housing, charity finds

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

A housing charity has raised concerns about a lack of affordable housing, forcing families and single people into homelessness for longer.

The Simon Communities launched its quarterly report Locked Out of the Market, which measures the experience of people on a low income and dependent on Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to access housing in the private rental market.

It found that in 12 of the 16 areas surveyed in October, there were no properties available to rent in any household category within standard or discretionary HAP limits.

These 12 areas 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.

The report also said there were just 33 properties available to rent under the discretionary rate of the HAP scheme.

This is 10 properties fewer than in June 2024.

The supply of properties within HAP limits are mostly in Dublin; 25 of the total 33 HAP properties in the October report were in the capital.

In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an extra 50 per cent on the standard rate; this is limited to 35 per cent elsewhere.

Just three properties were available within standard HAP limits across the 16 areas.

Executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, Wayne Stanley, said the report was “a continuation of the picture” that it has seen for several years.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Just two properties were available to single person or couple through a standard HAP rate – one in Dublin City South and one in Dublin City North.

There were an extra eight properties available in Dublin for a single person or couples within discretionary HAP limits.

There were no properties available to couples or one-parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate, with 16 properties available through discretionary HAP rates.

There was one property available to a couple or one-parent households with two children through a standard HAP rate, in Dublin city centre, and 22 available through discretionary HAP rates – 16 of which overlap with properties available to families with one child.