Rent allowance not enough to cover over 90% of rental properties

Over 90 per cent of the properties available to rent are too expensive for people dependent on rent allowance, a survey conducted by the Simon Communities has found.

The survey, carried out over three days at the end of last month, found there was not a single property available to a single person on rent allowance in any of the urban areas studied. Only 7.4 per cent of all the properties in the 11 areas looked at would have been within the reach of someone on rent allowance.

Conducted over 24th, 25th and 26th of August, the Locked Out of the Market II study looked at what was available on the property site Daft.ie in 11 areas - Cork, Dublin, Galway and Waterford city centres, as well as Portlaoise town, Athlone, Sligo town, Dundalk, Leitrim and Kildare county.

Across these were just two properties which would have been affordable for single people on rent supplement. This is in a context where 44 per cent of those on the social housing waiting list are single.

Niamh Randall, national spokeswoman for the charity, said the report highlighted the increasing gap between rent supplement levels and market rents.

“There were no properties available within any of the limits in Galway or Portlaoise and just one property was available within limits in Athlone. Neither a single person nor a couple could find property in Cork city centre and again no properties available for a single person in Dublin city centre.”

Private sector

She said it was questionable whether the rent supplement system was “fit for purpose” given that it was meant to act a safety net for those on the lowest incomes in need of housing in the private rental sector.

Rent supplement rates have not been increased by the Department of Social Protection since May 2013.

Ms Randall said the findings of the study were clear.

“We are just moving from a bad situation to one which is much worse. Rent supplement and Housing Assistance Payment limits are simply too low and this is causing people to become homeless as well as preventing people from leaving homelessness behind.”

The Simon Communities is calling for an increase in rent supplement and for the introduction of “long awaited” rent certainty measures.

“This is about political will, the Government have the power to implement the changes needed. We urge them to do this on budget day.”