Refurbishing Vacant Property - All Supports

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant is a scheme to support the sustainable reuse of vacant properties. Funded by the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund, the scheme is helping to bring vacant and underused buildings back into residential use and is ensuring that existing housing stock is being used to the fullest extent possible. It is also providing new choices for people to live in all cities, towns, villages and rural areas in Ireland, supporting their future growth and development.

Two types of grant exist:

• Vacant properties: a grant of up to a maximum of €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of a vacant property into a principal private residence or to be made available for rent, including the conversion of a property that has not been used for residential purposes before. The property must be vacant for two years or more and be built before 2008.
• Derelict properties: a maximum of €70,000 is available for the refurbishment of a derelict property. For a property to be deemed derelict (i.e. structurally unsound and dangerous), the applicant must confirm this by submitting an independent report prepared by an appropriately qualified professional along with the application form. The property can also be deemed derelict if it is on the local authority’s Derelict Sites Register. Evidence that the property was built before 2008 and that it is vacant for two years or more will also be required.

The grant is inclusive of the VAT cost of the works. Local authorities administer the scheme.

A Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Better Energy Home Scheme Grant may be available in combination with this grant. The SEAI Better Energy Home Scheme covers works of up to €26,750.

Read more on the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant

The Repair and Leasing Scheme is targeted at owners of vacant properties who cannot afford or who do not have access to the funding required to bring those properties up to the standard for a rental property.

If a property requires repairs to bring it up to standard for letting, a local authority or Approved Housing Body will pay for this repair work, up to a maximum of €80,000 (including VAT) per unit. In return, the property is made available for social housing for a period of between five and 25 years. The value of the repairs will then be offset against the agreed rental payment over a defined period within the lease.

Owners of properties that have been vacant for at least one year and which require repairs to bring the property to rental standards should contact their local authority, stating that they wish to apply for the repair and leasing scheme.

Read more on the Repair and Lease scheme

The Buy and Renew Scheme supports local authorities in purchasing and renewing housing units in need of repair and making them available for social housing use. It is a matter for each local authority to determine a property’s suitability for social housing. It aims to help tackle the problem of dereliction and to improve an area’s appearance.

As a complementary initiative to the Repair and Leasing Scheme, it provides the option for suitable properties to be purchased rather than leased, if that is the property owner’s preference.

Read more on the Buy and Renew scheme

Under the Ready to Build Scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites in towns and villages available to potential individual purchasers (self-builders). These sites will be available at a discount on the market value of the site for the building of a property for occupation as the principal private residence of the purchaser.

It is intended that the local authority will develop existing site(s) in their control or purchase site(s) and make them available for development by providing services and access to the site(s) concerned.

The level of discount to the individual will depend on the level of servicing cost incurred by the local authority before the sale of the site but will not exceed €30,000. The amount of such discount will be reflected in the sale price of the site to the purchaser.

The buyer of the site must reside in the dwelling built on the site as his or her principal private residence on completion of the dwelling.

Read more on the Ready to Build Scheme

The Living City initiative (LCI) is a scheme of targeted property tax incentives aimed at regeneration of older heritage buildings in Special Regeneration Areas the historic inner city areas of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny. It offers income or corporation tax relief for certain expenditure incurred in the refurbishment and conversion of qualifying residential and commercial buildings.

There are three distinct types of relief available under the Living City Initiative. These are:

• owner-occupier residential relief
• rented residential relief and
• commercial/retail relief.

The LCI aims to incentivise owners/investors to carry out the necessary refurbishment and/or conversion works to upgrade existing properties or bring derelict/disused properties back into use. Examples include bringing vacant upper floors above a shop into residential/commercial use or carrying out refurbishment work to one’s own home.

The minimum qualifying level of expenditure for the refurbishment and/or conversion of the property is €5,000 but there is no upper limit to the amount of qualifying expenditure that can be incurred in the refurbishment and/or conversion of a qualifying premises.

Owner-occupier residential relief

To be eligible for this relief, the property must have been built before 1915 and be wholly within one of the Special Regeneration Areas. After the work has been completed, the claimant must occupy the property as their main residence for all or part of each year for which the relief is claimed.

Property developers may apply for this relief, however, it can only be claimed by the individual who purchases the property to live in as their main residence.

Rented residential and commercial/retail relief

These reliefs are offered as accelerated capital allowances to the owner of the property. While both reliefs are only available in respect of qualifying buildings within one of the Special Regeneration Areas, the rented residential element is limited to buildings which were originally built pre-1915.

The maximum level of actual tax relief which can be obtained in respect of any individual project under the rented residential and commercial/retail reliefs is capped at €200,000, regardless of the number of investors.

Maps which detail the Special Regeneration Areas are available to view on the relevant local authorities’ websites. A Letter of Certification must be obtained from the local authority regarding the property before any claim for tax relief can be made.

More information on the Living City Initiative is available in Revenue's Tax and Duty manual and on the relevant local authority website below:

• Cork City Council
• Dublin City Council
• Galway City Council
• Kilkenny County Council
• Limerick City and County Council
• Waterford City and County Council

The Historic Towns Initiative (HTI) aims to promote the heritage-led regeneration of Ireland’s historic towns.

It encourages private owners and/or occupiers to bring vacant floor area in historic buildings back into use. Projects that address dereliction and vacancy are particularly focussed on, subject to going through the planning process, as necessary. It is a joint initiative of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Heritage Council.

Each local authority applies directly to the Heritage Council in respect of one historic town (with an indicative minimum population level of 1,500 inhabitants) in their functional area where a programme of suitable heritage-led regeneration projects can be delivered. This can include projects which tackle vacancy and re-use. Private owners are asked to make contact with their local authority about HTI applications. Up to €250,000 per town will be allocated per year.

Read more on the Historic Towns Initiative

Find a link to your local authority’s website

The Fair Deal scheme provides financial support to help pay for the cost of care in a nursing home. Until recently, as part of the financial assessment under Fair Deal, those in the scheme made two types of contributions towards the cost of their care:

• up to 80% of their assessable income, including rental income
• 7.5% of the value of certain assets, such as a home, each year, for a maximum of 3 years.

The sale of a home by a Fair Deal applicant could have led to uncapped contributions to the scheme. Together, these conditions provided a disincentive to applicants to sell or rent their homes after they had entered care.

Under changes brought in under Housing for All, the cap from contributions based on the value of a principal residence has been extended. It now includes proceeds from the sale of that residence.

This means, if a resident decides to sell their home while they are in care, the net proceeds of the sale will also qualify for the 3-year cap. By treating the home and its proceeds in a similar way, the Act removes any disincentive for people who want to sell a home left vacant after they enter residential care.

In addition, residents who choose to rent out their vacant home will now be assessed at 40% of their rental income instead of 80%. This means that residents can keep 60% of the income instead of 20%. The change in the assessment rate took effect from 01 November 2022.

It is estimated that this measure will bring between 400 and 2,000 rental properties into use, at any one time, once fully established. The policy change will also benefit many older people in long-term care by providing them access to an additional source of income.

More information on the Fair Deal Scheme

Those who wish to convert certain commercial premises - including vacant areas above ground-floor premises and former pubs - into residential units do not require planning permission for such works. The exemptions are in place until the end of 2025. A limit of nine residential units can be produced under an exempted development.

More information on planning permission exemptions

A Vacant Homes Officer is available in each local authority to provide information, advice and support for owners of vacant homes and those considering buying a home that is currently vacant. They are available to deal with queries from members of the public and key interested parties on vacant homes/properties and to provide expert up-to-date advice on bringing vacant property back into use.

Contact details for Vacant Homes Officers