6% of rental properties available within HAP, study says
Only 6% of rental properties are available for those in receipt of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
That is the finding of the Simon Communities Locked Out of the Market study, published today.
It is also calling for action in the forthcoming Budget on preventing homelessness, like measures to ensure security of tenure.
National Spokesperson for the Simon Communities Niamh Randall says rents must be kept affordable.
"Supply of homes within the Rent Supplement and the Housing Assistance Payment is decreasing each and every time we do this particular study," said Ms Randall.
"So it's really important that we look at rent certainty which means keeping rent at an affordable rate.
We have Rent Pressure Zones, they haven't been working that effectively so surely ensuring that we have some kind of monitoring and enforcement will make sure that we can utilise this market intervention.
According to the report, there were 561 properties with no income limits available to rent across eleven locations during the three-day period in August 2018 when the study was conducted.
However, just 34 properties were available within Rent Supplement/HAP limits.
The report states that 94% of all properties available to rent were above the Rent Supplement/HAP limits - a rise of 2% since May 2018.
Outlining what must be done in the Budget, Ms Randall said: "We very much welcomed the national implementation plan on Housing First but we need to make that a reality.
"This is a really excellent model for moving people out of homelessness into homes of their own as quickly as possible."
