Only 41 houses were available to rent for people accessing the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) last month, a new report has found.

According to the Simon Community's quarterly Locked Out of the Market new report, which focuses on 16 areas around the country; figure of 41 was a 17% increase from the 35 available in September 2022.

📌New Report

The Simon Community's quarterly Locked Out of the Market report, from December 2022, shows just 41 HAP properties were available to rent by people reliant on the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme.https://t.co/cZMxw1zlHv pic.twitter.com/V3xHmjnTXY

— Simon Communities (@SimonCommunity) January 13, 2023

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.

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.

Cost of Living protest in Dublin. 24th September 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

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, but elsewhere in the country, 35% is allowed.

The struggle to find affordable housing across Ireland is becoming increasingly difficult, with the Housing Assistance Payment HAP) in Cork city drastically decreasing its number of available homes.

A rapidly diminishing housing market reveals this December’s quarterly report, showing only 757 properties made readily available. Last December showed 1,349 available properties.

According to the latest report by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), “population growth and considerable pent-up demand” are huge contributing factors.

Cork City Council is required to inspect properties rented under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme and the failure rate is running at just over 90% since that inspection activity was ramped up late last year.

The co-author of new research into housing on the seven inhabited islands said they face an “existential threat” from issues such as supply, maintenance, and affordability.

This all comes amidst record levels of homelessness, with 11,542 people in emergency of accommodation.

Minister Micheál Martin said the proposed eviction ban was about getting the balance right and keeping a roof over those at risk of homelessness.