12 properties to rent within HAP limits in September

The latest Simon Communities of Ireland's Locked Out of the Market report shows that 12 properties were available to rent within any of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme limits in September.

The quarterly report found 1,361 properties were available to rent at any price within the 16 areas surveyed over three dates surveyed that month.

It was an increase of 58 properties (4%) since June 2026 and an increase of 528 properties (63%) since September 2025.

The publication is the third Locked Out of the Market report conducted under the new legislative framework (Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026), which has seen new tenancies operate on six-year cycles since 1 March.

Of the 16 study areas, 11 had no properties available within HAP limits in September. These include Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise and Waterford city centre.

Four of the 16 areas saw a reduction in the number of HAP properties available since the June 2026 report. These include Dublin city north (eight properties), Dublin city south (one property), Dublin city centre (one property) and Kildare (one property).

As seen in many previous Locked Out of the Market reports, the supply of properties within any HAP limits were predominantly in Dublin. Seven of the 12 HAP properties were found across the three Dublin study areas.

Only two of the 13 study areas outside of Dublin had properties available to rent within HAP limits - these were Dundalk (three properties) and Kildare (two properties).

11 of the 16 study areas had no properties available within HAP limits, including Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Galway city suburbs, Galway city centre, Co Leitrim, Limerick city suburbs, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre.

In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate; this is limited to 35% elsewhere in the country.

Increase in HAP limits required

Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, Ber Grogan expressed disappointment that Budget 2027 yielded no increase to HAP limits.

"Over the last ten years, rents have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for many households, while there’s been little change to HAP.

"As a result, people who rely on HAP are increasingly locked out of the private rental market, unable to secure a home they can afford despite having housing support in place. We see the impact of this every single day across the country."

Ms Brogan said that increasing HAP limits would be "an immediate, practical step" that the Government could take in helping people access housing.

In September, Sligo town had the lowest number of properties available to rent, with nine properties available across the three days.

When compared with the June 2026 Locked Out of the Market Report, five of the 16 study areas saw a reduction in the number of properties available to rent.

These include Dublin city north (40 properties), Dublin city south (47 properties), Galway city centre (28 properties), Limerick city centre (three properties), and Waterford city centre (five properties).

Ten of the 16 study areas saw an increase in the number of properties available to rent.

These included Athlone (seven properties), Cork city centre (eight properties), Cork city suburbs (27 properties), Dublin city centre (89 properties), Dundalk (12 properties), Galway city suburbs (two properties), Kildare (16 properties), Co Leitrim (eight properties), Limerick city suburbs (11 properties), and Portlaoise (one property). There was no change in the number of properties available in Sligo town.

Although studio apartments are not included in the overall figure for HAP properties, the data collected by the Simon Communities showed there were 25 studio apartments available within HAP limits during the study period.

Just three of the properties were available within standard HAP limits. 19 of these studio apartments were located in Dublin, one in Dundalk, three in Galway city centre, and two in Kildare.

There was one property available for single person/couple households within standard HAP limits, located in Dublin city south.

There were nine properties suitable for single person/couple households within discretionary HAP limits, located in Dublin city north (one property), Dublin city south (three properties), Dublin city centre (two properties), Dundalk (one property), and Kildare (two properties).

There were no properties available to couple/one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate. There was one property available through discretionary HAP rates, located in Dundalk.

When it came to couple/one parent households with two children, there were no properties available through a standard HAP rate.