HAP collapsing under FF and FG
HAP collapsing under FF and FG - The Labour Party
- Budget 2027 must prioritise HAP limit increase
- Rent brake needed to keep renters safe this winter
Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has called out Government’s abandonment of renters following the publication of the Locked Out of the Market report.
With just 20 HAP properties available for rent, only three of which were outside of Dublin, Deputy Sheehan said a generation of renters is being let down by Minister Browne and failed rental policy.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“HAP is effectively collapsing under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and today’s report by the Simon Communities is further confirmation of what renters and families have been reporting. For anyone relying on HAP, there simply is not a rental market to access. In 12 out of the 16 areas surveyed, there wasn’t a single property available within HAP limits. This is a clear policy failure.
“The Minister commissioned a long overdue review into HAP limits this year, but here we are during the Oireachtas recess with no clarity for renters who are preparing for the winter months ahead, facing enormous challenges as a direct consequence of the changed rental legislation introduced by Minister Browne.
“In the first quarter of 2026 alone, rents have soared nationally by 4.4% – the largest quarterly increase going back to 2002.
“Consistent Government failure to meet its social and affordable housing targets means that the supply of properties remains chronically low across the country which is in part driving these unaffordable rents.
“The Rental Tenancies Board data shows a phenomenal 50% increase in eviction notices issued to renters in Q1 of this year. Each of these renters are scrambling to find a new place to live and will be facing paying these crazy high rents. It’s unsustainable.
“The private rental sector is effectively becoming a gateway to eviction and homelessness due to a lack of availability and a lack of affordable options, and systems like HAP are failing to catch and support people on the hard edge of the crisis.
“Budget 2027 must ensure that vulnerable renters are not left behind. We need to see an increase to the HAP limits to reflect actual market conditions, alongside a commitment and pathway to speed up the delivery of social and affordable homes.
“No one should be facing becoming trapped into a cycle of homelessness, but until this Government wake up to the scale of the crisis, this is increasingly becoming a rally for many households across the country.”