Few rents fall within welfare limits, says charity

Less than 8 per cent of rental properties in Dublin, and just 12 per cent nationally, are available within State rent payment caps, according to a study by the Simon Communities.

Rent supplement and housing assistance payments (Hap) limits have not been increased since June 2013. Last March, the Department of Social Protection announced it did not plan to increase the caps. Rents have increased by almost 20 per cent nationally over the same period.

The gap between State rent allowances and the rent charged by private landlords was “without doubt causing homelessness”, Simon spokeswoman Niamh Randall said.

“People who are homeless or on the very edge of homelessness currently have no hope of accessing the housing they need. In many cases they just cannot afford rents being sought, and rent supplement/Hap limits are simply too low as rents continue to escalate.”

Accommodation survey

The study focused on accommodation to rent on property website Daft.ie across 10 regions over a three-day period last May. Some 1,150 properties were available in Dublin, Cork and Galway city centres, and Athlone, Dundalk, Leitrim, Portlaoise, Kildare, Sligo town and Limerick city.

However, the rent for just 138 of these properties fell within State allowance levels. Two areas, Athlone and Portlaoise, had no properties to rent under the rental cap. Of the 228 homes to rent in Dublin city centre, 18 were available within the rent limits and only two of these were within the limit set for single people.

Actions sought

The Simon Communities is urging the Government to increase the payment limits to bring them in line with market rental rates; to bring rent certainty by ensuring landlords can only increase rents within agreed limits over particular time periods; and to introduce incentives such as tax breaks for those renting to State supplement recipients.

The argument that increasing rent caps would result in landlords raising rents was not tenable, Ms Randall said, as so few landlords were taking on State benefit recipients.

“The number of people becoming homeless continues to increase, and yet one clear approach to addressing this crisis is being ignored,” she said.

“ If the Government is committed to addressing homelessness and supporting people on low incomes to access housing, rent supplement limits must be brought in line with current market rates.”