9/10 rental properties in Ireland were unavailable to receivers of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) last year.
While the number of properties to rent increased from October to December 2021, it was still 51% lower than the number of available rental properties in December 2020.
There were 148 properties available within HAP limits, representing 11% of total properties available. This is a 22% decrease of the 190 HAP-suitable properties available in the October 2021 report. Just five properties were available within standard HAP limits for a couple or one parent and one child.
Despite the overall increase in housing stock, we can see that the escalating lack of affordability is placing more and more pressure on the most vulnerable in the rental market. This is likely to affect those who are most at risk of homelessness and contribute to the rising monthly numbers accessing emergency accommodation.
There were 802 families and 3,133 single individuals in emergency accommodation in the capital at the end of last year. In December 2021, 46 families exited emergency accommodation into new tenancies. In total, 695 families exited emergency accommodation last year.