Households reliant on housing assistance rose 4% in 2021 – CSO

The number of households dependent on the housing assistance payment (HAP) increased by 4 per cent to 60,747 in 2021, new figures from the CSO show.

The data, published on Wednesday, shows the electoral area with the highest number of HAP-dependent households was Dublin's north inner city (1,586), followed by Dundalk south (1,216), Clondalkin (1,116) and Tallaght central (1,077), with the fewest in Granard, Co Longford (40).

The areas with the greatest concentration of HAP households were Tallaght central and Drogheda urban, where in each they accounted for 7.9 per cent of all households. The lowest proportion was in Stillorgan, in south county Dublin, where they accounted for just 0.6 per cent of all households.

As a proportion of rented properties registered with the Residential Tenancies Board, HAP tenancies accounted for at least 45 per cent of them in four areas. These were Arklow, Co Wicklow (53.7 per cent), Palmerstown-Fonthill, Dublin (48.2 per cent), Dundalk-Carlingford, Co Louth (46.3 per cent) and Kilrush, Co Clare (46.2 per cent).

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The lowest concentrations of HAP households as a proportion of all rentals were in Stillorgan and Pembroke (both 4 per cent); the southeast inner city (4.4 per cent) and Blackrock (4.7 per cent), both in south Dublin.

Of the 166 local electoral areas, almost half (81) saw an increase in the number of HAP properties between 2020 and 2021, with the largest percentage increase in Dublin’s southeast inner city where numbers increased from 224 to 334 (49 per cent).