Just twenty-seven homes are currently available in Ireland for those who use the Housing Assistance Payment.
The Simon Communities latest Locked Out of the Market report examined sixteen areas across Ireland, and found the lowest number of HAP properties available since they started producing the report eight years ago.
The low number has sparked concerns that more people will fall into homelessness.
Half of the areas surveyed had no properties available for people who avail of the support, including Cork, Galway and Limerick cities.
Executive Director of Simon Communities, Wayne Stanley, says the payment is crucial to avoid a rise in homelessness across the country, and has advised the government to increase the support for those who need it.
"The first thing the Minister can do, with the stroke of a pen, is increase the Housing Assistance Payment Rates.
We all acknowledge that you can't keep continuing to chase the rents in the current market but at least that would alleviate some of the pressure people are immediately under.
What we need to do beyond that is look at the number of properties that local authorities are allocating to people who are experiencing homeless or are imminently at risk and can we make more progress there?"
The Housing Assistance Payment is a social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. The scheme is organised by local authorities, who pay landlords directly and tenants pay a weekly rent contribution to the local authority, based on their income and ability to pay.
