Publication
Vacant homes
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
'Housing for All’ is the government’s housing plan to 2030. The plan sets out four pathways to a sustainable housing system. Pathway four ‘Pathway to Addressing Vacancy and Efficient use of Housing Stock’ seeks, through a range of incentives, funding programmes, new regulation of short-term and holiday lets and other measures to ensure that existing housing stock is utilised to the fullest extent possible. This will in turn, help revitalise our cities, towns and villages. More information on pathway four can be found on the Housing for All website.
Town Centre First – A Policy Approach for Irish Towns’ is the Government’s overarching strategy for the renewal and regeneration of Irish Towns. It includes a major new policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It contains 33 unique actions which will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business.
The policy is underpinned by multiple existing and future multi-billion euro investment programmes spread across major Government schemes such as the:
See the full Town Centre Policy.
The Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund, to be delivered by local authorities, provides new choices for people to live in towns and villages in Ireland. The first element of the fund was launched on 14 July 2022 and provides grant funding to support the refurbishment of vacant properties in towns and villages for residential use, where the level of vacancy or dereliction is high. The grant is known as the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant .
The second element of the fund will see local authorities make available serviced sites at reduced cost to support self-build home ownership. The Fund is targeted to deliver some 2,000 homes by 2025.
A major programme of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) is being introduced by Local Authorities. It is expected that local authorities will purchase vacant properties through their compulsory purchase powers, even when these dwellings are not suitable for social housing.
The objective is for local authorities to acquire at least 2,500 vacant units by 2026 and present them to the market for sale.
Local Authorities will also use the existing Buy and Renew Scheme and Repair and Leasing Scheme to maximise opportunities to return vacant properties to productive use. This programme will be supported by a bridging finance facility from the Housing Finance Agency for property acquisitions.
A central advisory service is being established in The Housing Agency to assist local authorities with the new CPO programme. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is providing additional funding to local authorities to ensure their Vacant Homes Officers positions are full-time. These officers are responsible for driving this programme forward.
Vacant Homes Officers are available in local authorities to provide information, advice and support for owners of vacant homes. They are available to deal with queries from members of the public in respect of private residential vacant properties in their administrative area. List of Vacant Homes Officer Contacts.
Vacant Homes Officers will be responsible for administering Vacant Property Refurbishment Grants (funded through the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund) and Compulsory Purchase Order programmes in local authorities.
The Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Act 2021 commenced on 20 October 2021. The Act provides for a change in how the cost of a person’s nursing home care, under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (that is, the ‘Fair Deal’ scheme) is calculated. The Act extends the existing three-year cap on contributions to the cost of care. The cap is extended from contributions based on the value of a principal residence to include proceeds from the sale of that residence. 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.