The Simon Community has revealed that the number of properties to rent for vulnerable people facing eviction is at its lowest ever.
It comes the day before an expected flood of evictions are initiated as the ban on evictions is set to lapse on April 1.
The charity’s Locked Out of the Market report checks how many properties are there for homeseekers to rent at any one time.
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The report for March shows that there were only 672 properties to rent at any price within the 16 areas covered over the three dates surveyed.
This was down 11%, or 85 properties, on the previous low of 757 homes identified in the last survey in December.
Worse still for those facing homelessness, only 29 of these homes available to rent match the criteria to qualify for HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) government supports.
Wayne Stanley, Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, has described the findings as ‘particularly stark’.
Mr Stanley said: “Our March 2023 Locked Out of the Market report found no properties at the standard rate of HAP and just 29 properties within discretionary HAP rates; the lowest ever number found since this research series began in 2015.
“In the context of the lifting of the moratorium, these are very stark numbers.
“In the real world, when we look at these numbers through the lens of the people we support out of homelessness, the private rental market is no longer an option.
“The consequences of this have been playing out for some time with growing levels of long-term homelessness and individuals and families unsustainably topping up the payments, in order to exit or avoid homelessness.
“Even at this late hour, we are calling on the Government to consider reversing their decision to lift the eviction ban.
“Keeping the ban in place would give the Government time.
“With that time, we propose that they embed tenants in situ scheme and implement the Simon Bill.
“This is a homeless prevention measure that targets families and individuals in the rental market who are at risk of homelessness from eviction.
“Enacting this Bill would prevent the need for widespread eviction bans in the future and enable protections for those more vulnerable to housing insecurity.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar defended the Government’s housing policy when asked about the report’s damning findings.
He said: “This year so far alone an additional 2,000 HAP tenancies have been created, so that’s people who qualify for social housing and need a new place to go.”
Finance Minister, Paschal Donohoe, was asked about the decision to end the evictions ban.
He said: “This is one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever been involved in.”
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