A new report has found that the number of properties available to rent under Housing Assistance Payment is at the lowest level ever recorded by the Simon Community.
The figures are particularly concerning in the counties of Sligo and Leitrim.
Just 27 properties were available to rent within the discretionary rate of HAP across 16 areas, according to the homeless charity’s quarterly Locked Out of the Market report.
There were no HAP properties to rent in half of the 16 areas across the three day period that was surveyed. These areas included Sligo Town the county of Leitrim.
More than half of the 27 properties available within HAP limits were in Dublin.
The number of properties available for rent at any price within the areas surveyed has also fallen to 901, from the 934 available for rent in the previous report published in June.
Of these, 75pc were located in the three Dublin areas surveyed.
The report found that there were just three homes for rent in Sligo.
