That's according to a report by the Simon Communities Of Ireland.
Some of the midlands' biggest towns have no properties available under the HAP rental scheme.
The Simon Communities of Ireland's Locked Out of the Market report shows there were no such homes available in either Portlaoise or Athlone.
Those statistics represent no change since the first quarter of the year.
The latest report shows there were only 43 home available to rent under the HAP scheme countrywide, while 10 of the 16 surveyed areas had no such properties on the market.
Executive Director of Simon, Wayne Stanley, says the market is particularly bad outside of the city:
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