Over 2,000 vacant council homes returned to use in 2014

More than 2,000 vacant local authority flats and houses, some of which have been empty for years, have been refurbished in the last year, according to the latest figures from the Department of the Environment.

Some €30 million was allocated to local authorities in 2014 – €15 million in April and a further €15 million in July – to bring their long-term vacant social housing properties back into use.

These flats and houses are known as “voids” or void stock by city and county councils as the money needed to refurbish them is too great to be sourced within normal annual budgets.

In many cases these homes were boarded up when vacated by previous occupants and left to become increasingly derelict, reducing the possibility they would ever been returned to use.

To be eligible for inclusion in the €30 million fund, the work required to the properties had to be achievable within one year at a maximum cost of €30,000 per unit, although the refurbishment needed for most properties was considerably less, at an average of €16,000.

Dublin

The largest number of long- term vacant homes was in Dublin city, where 470 flats and houses were on the voids list because the city council could not afford extensive renovations needed.

Flat complexes earmarked for demolition as part of regeneration projects were not included in the list.

Figures from the department up to December 18th last show that almost one-third of the 2,079 local authority homes that have been brought back into use in 2014 were in the Dublin region, where demand for housing is at its highest.

In Dublin city, 407 units, most of which were flats, have been renovated and are ready for use or have already been rented out under the scheme, the department said.

A further 165 homes have been refurbished in Fingal and 92 in south Dublin.

Just three properties were renovated by Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown County Council, but the council said these were the only units it had that came under the description of long-term voids

Cork City Council has brought 187 of its void units back into use, while 155 homes have been refurbished in the Cork County Council area.

Substantial numbers have also been restored to use in Tipperary (86), Kerry (79), Co Galway (76), Clare (65) and Meath (59).

About 1,000 more vacant houses and flats would be renovated over the next year which would reduce the number of boarded-up units to the lowest levels possible, Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has said.

Normal

“There will always be a level of vacant units – it is normal in social housing supply and management that vacancies will arise and there can be normal gaps between the end of one occupancy and the subsequent reletting of a house or flat.

“However, it is essential that the number of such voids is kept low and their turnaround back to productive use is always kept to a minimum,” the Minister said.

Local authorities had been “aggressively engaged” in work to tackle the vacant units, despite a short lead-in time since the last funding announcement in July, but it was vital this momentum was maintained, he added.

“This is especially so given the demand for social housing that we currently have – vacant houses deprive families of homes and a vacant unit can sometimes become a focal point for nuisance and anti-social behaviour.”

More than 90,000 applicants are on housing waiting lists nationally, including 20,000 in Dublin city.