Rental crisis in Leitrim continues to deteriorate according to latest Simon Community report

The Simon Community's latest Locked Out of the Market report has painted a bleak picture for renters in Leitrim.

Leitrim was one of the areas surveyed in this quarterly report which examines the experience of people on a low income and dependent on Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to access housing in the private rental market. 

The latest study shows that the rental crisis has not yet abated. Simon Communities Executive Director Wayne Stanley has warned: "Unless we get ahead of this crisis in the private rental market and start providing the infrastructural solutions that we need, we're going to see homeless numbers continue to increase, and that spread of increase widened out across counties."

In four of the 16 areas studied in the report, the number of properties available to rent at any price remained unchanged from the report released in June of this year. County Leitrim was one of these areas, along with Dundalk, Galway City suburbs and Limerick City. 

Similarly, Leitrim was one of the 10 areas listed that had no properties available within HAP limits in both the June and September reports.

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In just September's report, 12 of the 16 study areas had no properties available to rent within HAP limits. This included Leitrim Athlone, Cork City Centre, Cork City Suburbs, Dundalk, Galway City Suburbs, Galway City Centre, Limerick City Suburbs, Limerick City Centre, Sligo Town, Portlaoise and Waterford City Centre.

Overall, the report found just 33 properties available within standard or discretionary HAP limits across the 16 study areas, representing just 3% of the total properties examined in the study.

This report shows 2024 has seen a substantial decrease in houses available through HAP in the areas studied. In comparison, in 2023, an average of 4% of properties were available through HAP, in 2022 the average was 8% and in 2021
the average was 28%.

As seen in previous Locked Out of the Market reports, the supply of properties within HAP limits was predominantly found in Dublin. Of the 33 HAP properties found, 25 were across the three Dublin study areas.

Speaking on Morning Ireland on Tuesday morning, Wayne Stanley said the latest report is a continuation of the picture that has been seen for a number of years in the private rental market.

He said: "The Simon Communities are seeing the consequences of this when it comes to families and individuals having to stay longer and longer in homelessness."