Just one home available under HAP in Dundalk latest Simon report shows

There was just one home available to rent in Dundalk, within either the standard or the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme, over the three dates surveyed in December for the latest Simon Communities of Ireland’s quarterly Locked Out of the Market report.

The report found 1,233 properties were available to rent at any price within the 16 areas surveyed in Ireland over the three dates surveyed, including 23 in Dundalk.

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need and is provided by the local authority.

The HAP property available to rent in Dundalk during the three days of the survey was a property for a couple/one parent household with two children through a standard HAP rate. There were no properties available under a discretionary HAP rate, a facility available to local authorities to pay an uplift of 35% on HAP rates.

Looking at the 16 areas surveyed overall, 46 properties were available to rent within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme. Eight of the 16 areas had no properties available to rent in any household category within standard or discretionary HAP limits. These were Athlone, Cork City Centre, Galway City Centre, Co. Leitrim, Limerick City Suburbs, Limerick City Centre, Sligo Town and Portlaoise.

37 or 76% of the total 46 HAP properties were found in Dublin. In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate; this is limited to 35% elsewhere in the country. The remaining HAP properties were found in Cork City Suburbs (one property), Dundalk (one property), Galway City Suburbs (one property), Kildare (four properties) and Waterford City Centre (two properties).

Tony Geoghegan, Interim Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said: “The findings from the latest Locked Out of the Market report are stark, showing little to no improvement compared to previous reports. The trend is clear; HAP recipients are finding it increasingly difficult to secure suitable accommodation.

"Outside of Dublin is certainly a bigger challenge, with no properties available in eight of the 16 areas studied. While the new Programme for Government’s commitment to increased housing targets is hugely welcome, in the meantime we must prevent more people becoming homeless and also support people who are currently homeless to exit homelessness.

"In the past, the Private Rented Sector was one of the main avenues for people to exit homelessness. However, this is no longer the case. If the new Government is serious in addressing homelessness, then a dedicated homeless prevention strategy, that includes a strategy for managing the private rented sector, is urgently required.”