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JUST 41 houses were available to rent for people accessing the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) last month, a new report has found.
The Simon Communities Locked Out of the Market report for December, which examines 16 areas around the country, found the figure of 41 was a 17% increase from the 35 available in September 2022.
40 of these fell within discretionary HAP limits only and only one property was available to rent under a standard HAP rate. This was a one-bedroom property in Kildare suitable for singles or couples.
HAP is a form of rental benefit payment to assist lower-income households.
Under HAP, a tenant’s main rent is paid directly to a landlord, with the tenant paying a differential rent to their local council. The tenants must cover their own deposit, and no rent is paid by the council in advance of them entering the home.
The report also found that the number of properties available to rent increased for the first time in two years.
There were 757 properties available to rent at any price within the 16 study areas, over the three dates surveyed.
This represents a 93.1% increase from the previous report (392), but still down 43.8% from the 1,349 properties available in December 2021.
As seen in many recent Locked Out of the Market reports, the properties within HAP limits were predominantly available in Dublin.
24 (58.5%) were found in the three Dublin areas examined (Dublin city centre, Dublin city north and Dublin city south).
In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate; this is 35% elsewhere in the country.
11 of the 16 study areas had no properties available to rent in any household category within standard or discretionary HAP limits. These were Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Galway city suburbs, Galway city centre, Co Leitrim, Limerick city suburbs, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre.
The report found 11 properties affordable under the discretionary HAP rates for both single people and couples. A further 23 properties were available under discretionary limits for households with one child. 30 properties were available for families with two children, under the discretionary HAP rate, 23 of which overlap with properties available to one-child families.
“Our most recent report sees a small increase in the number of properties available for those on HAP. There were 35 in the last report and now 41. While any improvement in the context of the current crisis is welcome, it is sadly not possible to call this an improving situation,” Wayne Stanley, executive director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said.
“The frontline experience of the Simon Communities working across Ireland, supporting people to move on from homelessness, reflects this,” Stanley said.
“41 properties available in the context of 11,542 people seeking to exit homelessness is a chronic situation that requires an emergency response,” he added.
Stanley said the Government has “taken the important and welcome step of bringing in the moratorium on evictions”.
“Actions taken while this moratorium is in place will go a long way and what we need to see is momentum on the provision of secure affordable accommodation to those in homelessness throughout 2023,” he said.
“In the short term, we need to look at the allocation of current local authority housing. If we are to ensure secure affordable homes are in place to address the homelessness crisis, we need to see the full potential in modular build, in vacancy and dealing with dereliction delivered on and brought into the public housing system.”
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stop taxing the sh–e out of the small landlord and they may stay in the market, they are the backbone of the rental market, a lot of you won’t like that but its fact !
@John Lillis: Or maybe stop taxing the sh-e out of PAYE workers instead who pay the same rates as landlords? Maybe then we could afford the exorbitant rent.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: maybe if landlords didn’t have to pay 53% tax on rental income they could afford to let houses out for less.
@Fr. Fintan Stack:
The highest rate of paye tax is 40% I believe.
Bring the tax landlords pay on income back to 40% then and i bet it would pretty much stop the exodus of small landlords and most likely bring some into the market. People need to stop beating the small landlord who are no reit , they are most likely your neighbour struggling as well.
The biggest palyer to get out this mess is the small landlord !
Maybe if you both got your facts correct before you comment?
Small landlords taxed the same as PAYE workers with a lot more allowances for the landlord.
Broadly for 2023, first 40K taxed at 20%. Remainder at 40% .
Although I do agree REITs should be brought in to the equation, it might help reduce tax for all.
https://www.sckgroup.ie/how-to-calculate-income-tax-on-irish-rental-income/
@John Lillis: the government has successfully destroyed the private rented sector
@Fr. Fintan Stack: REITs are offshore and registered charities and avail of every tax loophole. Even if the government hadn’t bent over backwards to provide them with loopholes so they’d start building here they’d still be paying less tax.
Aren’t landlords required to accept HAP? The title is making it sound like there’s nothing for people on HAP to rent but I’m assuming it means that’s there are only 41 properties available that HAP covers rent in it’s entirety.
@Podge: they can’t refuse it but they don’t have to lower rent to make it affordable for HAP. That is like saying a shop refused service because you could not pay full price for something.
Owning a second property to rent out is a mugs game. Invest elsewhere.
@zephyrum: You’re making out that’s the solution but that in fact is the problem. Landlords are leaving the market resulting in fewer rental properties.
HAP is not fit for purpose. The red tape involved is outrageous. Whole system seems designed to demean and frustrate applicants.
The likes of daft.ie should legally only be able to advertise properties belonging to registered landlords
@David Gillespie: tenancies are registered not landlords
Story fails to identify what HAP rates are. Another example of bad journalism from Journal.ie.
Am I missing something here? Landlords are refusing to rent out their properties despite the payment being guaranteed. If the reason is landlords are not registered, is that not tax evasion. If it is down to ‘untrustwordy’ tenants i.e. damage to property etc, fair enough but then why are all HAP tenants being tarred with the same brush. 775 ( I do get the Hap price limits) rental properties presently available, 41 for HAP, so that kicks out the argument of taxing landlords out of the market. My point is that it cannot be that difficult to sort this mess out, even if that means bringing legal action against either party.
@Barrycelona: you are missing something here. A lot. The vast vast majority of landlords are registered because if they are found not to be registered they get hit with substantial fines. HAP payment is in arrears so the landlord could be waiting months for first payment. The property has to be assessed as suitable so that’s days off work for inspections and could require costly changes even for modern well specced properties. If tenant stops paying (and not wanting to tar all with same brush but as a category they are higher risk) then the Local Authority stops payment to the landlord who has to go to RTB . Rent is not guaranteed. There are some council schemes where rent we by us guaranteed but not HAP. And finally more wear and tear cos tenants tend not to be working and home all day.
have your say