Rising rents make it ‘impossible’ to find affordable homes

Local authorities say it is often impossible to find affordable accommodation for low-income families as the cost of rent continues to rise.

Local authority officials told an Oireachtas committee yesterday that they were coping with rising demand for housing.

Kathleen Holohan, county manager with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said demand for rented accommodation in the area greatly exceeded supply following a dramatic fall-off in construction.

“Rents have escalated and this has had the knock-on effect of reducing the efficacy of the rent subsidy as a housing solution, as rent supplement caps are well below the average rent rates for family homes,” she told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment.

The number of new homes in the area fell from 3,000 in 2007 to just 200 in 2012. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown estimates that about 2,500 new homes are needed annually to help meet demand.