LATEST: Just over 50 properties available to rent in Co Kildare in September

There was an average of 52 properties available to rent in selected areas in Kildare in September, with just two of those available for people on the standard HAP allowance.

Two one-bedroom properties were available under discretionary HAP rates for singles and couples. Three two-bedroom properties were available for households with one or two children.

Under the HAP scheme, where local rents are high and tenants are under financial pressure, local authorities can choose at its discretion to increase the amount they pay. They can pay up to 35% over the official threshold

There were two properties available under a standard HAP rate.

For one-bed properties in Kildare, monthly rents ranged between €850 and €1,400.

Rents ranged from €1,250-€2,300 for two-bedroom properties.

Rents ranged from €1,300-€3,600 for three-bedroom properties

According to Daft.ie, average rents in Kildare rose 12.2% in the last year and now sit at €1,801.

Nationally, there were only 27 properties available to rent under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme in September, the lowest figure ever recorded.

The September 2023 Locked Out of the Market report from Simon Communities Ireland shows a further decrease in the number of properties available to rent in the private rental market and available through HAP since June 2023.

The report comes in the context of a private rental market affected by a contraction in supply, increase in rental prices, and an overall lack of affordability.

75% (673) of properties available to rent at any price were located within the three Dublin areas studied.

Sligo had the lowest number of homes available to rent with just three properties available over the three days.

Portlaoise had six properties available during the study period.

Nine of the 16 study areas experienced a decrease in the availability of properties to rent.

These were Athlone, Cork city centre, Dublin city north, Dublin city centre, Dundalk, Galway city suburbs, Galway city centre, Limerick city centre and Limerick city suburbs.

The latest Daft.ie Rental Price Report found that rent prices experienced a 10.7% year-on-year increase in Q2 2023.

Simon notes that this is the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit increases, but is a slowdown relative to the peak inflation rate of 14.1% seen in 2022 Q3.

The average national monthly rent now sits at €1,792. Significant increases over the year were reported in both rural and urban areas, with County Mayo experiencing the highest year-on-year increase in rental prices at 24.3%,
followed closely by Roscommon with a 22.8% increase.

Compared to the start of 2023, rents in Dublin have risen by 0.9% compared to an average of 2.6% for the other cities and 6.5% outside cities.

Increases in rents have been twinned with an ongoing contraction of supply. The Daft.ie Rental price Report found nearly 1,200 available to rent on August 1st 2023. This figure is up almost two thirds on the same date a year earlier, but it is only half the number available on the same date in 2021.

The number of people in homelessness continues to increase, with a new record-high reached every month until July, before dropping by 156 persons in August 2023. The latest figures from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage reported that 12,691 people were living in emergency homeless accommodation in the last week of August.

This represents a 17% increase (1,886 people) since the same time last year.