The Simon Community has warned that continuous rent hikes are forcing many into homelessness, after it was revealed that rent prices are nearly back to where they were in the boom.  The Private Residential Tenancies Board have revealed that rent was 8.6 per cent higher at the end of September than it was at the same time last year and just 2.3 per cent lower than their highest point. The PRTB noted a 7.7 per cent rise in the rent price for houses and a 9 per cent rise in apartment rent prices, with the average prices now €945 and €873 respectively. In a statement, Simon Community spokesperson Niamh Randall, said: "This is a national emergency, people are being priced out of the private rental sector, which not only puts them at risk of homelessness but also prevents people from moving out of homelessness. "Growing numbers of people are stuck in emergency accommodation trying to go about daily living; sleeping, eating, playing, doing homework all in the one tiny space. "The trauma of this and the stress for those sharing dormitory style accommodation can have a long lasting impact. This is not a solution to homelessness." However, the Irish Property Owners' Association have said in a statement that the private rental sector is not to blame for the homelessness crisis. The statement says: "The private rental sector is not responsible for the homelessness that some people are sadly experiencing, the Department of Social Protection reduced Rent Supplement numerous times when rents were decreasing but they have not increased it sufficiently as the market recovered."