Families worried as only 8 per cent of rental properties within support limits

Bad news for families looking to rent.

It's recently been revealed that only eight per cent of rental properties in Ireland is available within rent support limits. The Simon Community conducted a study that found that the majority of homes for rent are out of reach for those dependent on rent allowance schemes. The 'Locked Out of the Market' study looked at 41 properties in 11 different areas. Of all those properties only 13 would accept HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) for a family of four or a single parent with two children. This is a decrease of 3 properties when compared with February 2018 and amounts to 31% of all available properties within RS/HAP limits. As it stands more than 1,000 Irish families are recorded as being homeless, with statistics being particularly bad in cities such as Dublin where the property is at it's most expensive. Many have called for more regulations to be put in place to cap rental prices and fines for those who allow properties they own to lay idle. With no end in sight for the rising prices of property all across the country and fewer landlords accepting schemes like HAP as a form of payment, many more families could be faced with having to declare themselves homeless in the near future.