No properties available within HAP limits in Athlone

There were no properties available within the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) limits in Athlone over a three-day study period in late 2025.

The December 2025 Locked Out of the Market report by the Simon Communities of Ireland found that an average of 15 properties were available to rent in Athlone each day during the selected study period.

However, none of the available properties had rents within HAP limits for any of the household types studied.

The HAP is a social housing support for people with long-term housing needs who are on local authority waiting lists. It enables tenants to find private rented accommodation, with the local council paying monthly rent directly to the landlord, while the tenant pays a differential rent contribution to the council based on income.

The tenancy must be within set HAP rent limits (the standard rate). Local authorities in this area have flexibility on a case-by-case basis to go up to 35% above the rent limits (discretionary rate).

Tenants can pay an additional payment directly to the landlord in cases where the rent is more than the HAP limits, but it must be approved by the local authority.

In Athlone, no property was available within either the standard or discretionary rate limit.

Nationally, the report found 929 properties were available to rent in the 16 areas over the three dates surveyed.

This is a 12% increase from the 833 properties available in the September 2025 report. However, it is a 25% reduction from the 1,233 properties available in December 2024.

The report found 31 properties available to rent within discretionary HAP limits across the 16 geographical study areas. This is a 29% increase from the number of properties available in the September 2025 report.

Just 3% of all properties available to rent at the time of data collection were available within HAP limits.

This is the same as 2024’s average. In 2023, an average of 4% of properties were available through HAP. In 2022, the average was 8% and in 2021 the average was 28%.

In 10 out of the 16 study areas, including Athlone, there were no properties available to rent through HAP in any household category in either the September 2025 or December 2025 report.

The report focuses on four household categories: single person, couple, couple/one parent and one child and couple/one parent and two children.