18th July 2025
Thousands Locked Out of the Rental Market – Simon Communities Say: We Care, and Action Is Needed
The Simon Communities of Ireland’s (SCI) quarterly Locked Out of the Market report, from June 2025, shows that just 32 properties were available to rent within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme. This is a decrease of nine properties (-22%) since March 2025.
HAP Properties
There were no properties available in eight of the 16 areas – these include Athlone, Cork City Centre, Cork City Suburbs, Co. Leitrim, Limerick City Centre, Sligo Town, Portlaoise, and Waterford City Centre. Four of the 16 study areas saw a reduction in the number of HAP properties available since the March 2025 report. These include Dublin City North (seven properties), Dublin City Centre (two properties), Dundalk (one property), and Kildare (one property). This lack of availability was across all household categories within standard or discretionary HAP limits. Discretionary HAP limits includes ‘homeless HAP’, the increased rate of HAP for people experiencing homelessness.
As seen in many previous Locked Out of the Market reports, the supply of properties within HAP limits are predominantly in Dublin. 22 of the total 32 HAP properties were found in Dublin. Just five of the 13 study areas outside of Dublin had properties available to rent within HAP limits. These included Dundalk (-three properties), Galway City Suburbs (-one property), Galway City Centre (-one property), Kildare (-four properties), and Limerick City Suburbs (-one property).
Nathan,* Cork Simon service user, said:
Lowest Number of Properties
Sligo Town and Portlaoise had the lowest number of properties available to rent, with just seven and two properties available in each area, respectively, across the three days. 10 of the 16 study areas saw a reduction in the number of properties available to rent. These include Cork City Centre (two properties), Cork City Suburbs (23 properties), Dublin City North (47 properties), Dublin City South (one property), Dublin City Centre (52 properties), Dundalk (four properties), Galway City Centre (six properties), Kildare (12 properties), Co. Leitrim (four properties), and Waterford City Centre (four properties).
In two of the 16 study areas, the number of properties available to rent at any price remained unchanged from the March 2025 report. These included Limerick City Suburbs and Portlaoise. Four of the 16 study areas saw an increase in the number of properties available to rent. These included Athlone (three properties), Galway City Suburbs (three properties), Limerick City Suburbs (six properties), and Sligo Town (two properties).
Studio Apartments
For the purpose of this report, studio apartments are not included in the overall figure for HAP properties. However, there were 27 studio apartments available within HAP limits during the study period. Only two of these properties were available within standard HAP limits. Of these 27 studio apartments, 26 were located in Dublin, and one in Cork City Suburbs.
Ber Grogan, Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said:
“The findings of the latest Locked Out of the Market report must act as a wake-up call for policymakers. Do they care that the rental sector continues to fail those reliant on HAP? Simon certainly cares. With only 32 properties available under HAP across 16 areas – and entire counties without a single option, people entitled to housing support are being pushed further into homelessness and essentially, left behind. The rental market is failing those most in need.
We urgently need accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing, meaningful reforms to HAP rates, and a targeted strategy to prevent homelessness. We must ensure that hope is restored for those people who are locked out of access to this accommodation option. The Simon Communities of Ireland has been calling for updated HAP limits for many years. We welcomed the Ombudsman’s report on HAP and will continue to call for reform. Budget 2026 will give the opportunity to address this cause of homelessness before our next Locked Out of the Market report.”
Single Person / Couple
There were four properties available to single person/couple households through a standard HAP rate. These four properties were located in Dublin City North, Dublin City Centre, Galway City Suburbs and Kildare. There were an additional 12 properties available for single person/couple households within discretionary HAP limits. These were in Dublin City North (three properties), Dublin City South (six properties), Galway City Centre (one property), and Kildare (two properties).
Couples/Parent with One Child
There were no properties available to couple/one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate. There were 10 properties available through discretionary HAP rates. Five properties were in Dublin City North, four were in Dublin City South and one in Dublin City Centre.
Couple / Parent with Two Children
Ber Grogan continued:
“It’s particularly concerning given that one parent families are over-represented in the thousands of families and children experiencing homelessness. Does anybody care that nearly 5,000 children are experiencing homelessness? Simon cares.
*Name changed for anonymity.
ENDS
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