29 tenancies secured using HAP Place Finder
The HAP Place Finder Service has helped to secure 29 tenancies in Sligo, last Monday’s meeting of Sligo County Council was told.
Following a request from Independent Councillor Declan Bree, the council confirmed that under the scheme, 18 single people secured tenancies, while 11 families (17 adults and 23 children) secured tenancies.
The HAP Place Finder Service started in Sligo County Council in June 2018 and aims to provide a targeted support for homeless households who are finding it difficult to secure HAP tenancies.
The Place Finder Service assists by providing access to deposits and advance rental payments in order to secure accommodation via the Housing Assistance Payment scheem, and by linking available private rented accommodation with homeless applicants.
The Place Finder target groups are as follows: single persons in hostels for over six months, families in emergency accommodation, households exiting direct provision who have overstayed in the RIA accommodation and households who have received notice to quit and have an emergency need for accommodation within one month.
There are many challenges face by the scheme such as the lack of suitable accommodation, affordability, some applicants require on-going support from various services and previous refrences are required by landlords and some applicants would not have any.
Councillor Chris MacManus said: “Not a week goes by when
I’m not dealing with someone on a notice to quit, or a landlord selling up, there’s nothing these people can do. We have no social housing. We have to have an accelerated programme of social housing. I’m tired of being in here echoing the same thing. HAP is a failure. We need more council housing. And there are people not eligible for HAP who can’t gather the money for a deposit because of the exorbitant rent they are paying.”