Vacant Home Refurbishment Grant Information Sessions

15/11/2024

With Cork homeowners showing significant interest in the €50,000 vacant home refurbishment grant, Cork City Council is inviting further applications.

Cork City Council is holding three public drop-in vacancy & dereliction sessions aimed at informing the public about the financial supports available to refurbish vacant and derelict properties. ( see further details below)

To date, over 330 people have applied for the Vacant Homes Refurbishment Grant with 75% of these applications approved.

Over one third of the successful applicants have begun the drawdown procedure which will see over €17 million paid out - should all properties complete planned works.

The grant offers up to €50,000 for vacant properties while derelict properties can qualify for up to €70,000. The key criteria is that the property must be vacant for at least two years, with further conditions necessary if the homeowner is to quality for the derelict top-up.

Director of Service Fearghal Reidy said: “Cork City Council has seen an excellent uptake of the grant, one of the highest per capita of any local authority nationally. This is very promising as every successful grant is another example of a long-term vacant home returning to use”.

Properties which are deemed derelict in line with the terms of the grant qualify for an additional €20,000. Sites currently on Cork City Council’s derelict site register automatically qualify for this dereliction top-up if all other terms of the scheme are met. A number of sites on our register have already successfully applied.

The vacant homes scheme is one of several grants available to property owners, some of which, like the SEAI grants for retrofitting homes, can be applied for in tandem with other grants to maximise funds,” he said.

Homes must also be built before 2007 and comply with any relevant conservation requirements. Funding can be claimed for a variety of works with the scheme aimed at bringing long term vacant property back into use within 13 months of an application being approved.

Those wishing to avail of the grant for rental purposes must be an individual, as companies or funds cannot apply, while owners seeking to rent their restored property must sign up to the Residential Tenancies Board which applies a strict code of conduct towards renters.

The Croí Cónaithe Vacant Homes grant, which was launched in late 2022, saw extensive revisions in May 2023, extending it to city areas and streamlining the application process. The fund is offered by the Department of Housing, Government and Heritage and administered by the relevant local authority.

Case Study:

Deirdre O’Farrell highly recommends anyone applying for the vacant home renovation grant if they are refurbishing a home that was vacant for more than two years.

Deirdre and her husband Kieran used the grant to refurbish a bungalow at Benvoirlich in Bishopstown after they relocated to Cork from Co Kildare. She’d previously read about the grant online and was delighted when their engineer said he’d attended a council briefing on the funding assistance.

Yes, she says, there is “lots involved in the application” but describes the process as “definitely do-able”.

“There’s a very useful checklist of documentation. So put the effort in with the paperwork at the beginning and the claim will be easier at the end,” Deirdre says. Documentation requested included builders’ quotes, tax clearance certificates etc.

Deirdre described communication with Cork City Council’s Vacant Homes Office as “excellent” and said their greatest delay was waiting for a site inspection at the beginning of the process. Site inspections are now carried out in two weeks due to greater resourcing.

“A renovation was the last thing we wanted to do. But once we started looking at properties in Cork, we realised that we loved this area and that a renovation was the only way that we would get a house here. We’re delighted with the outcome. What was once a draughty old house is a comfortable warm home”.

Notes:

Cork City Council is holding three public drop-in vacancy & dereliction sessions aimed at informing the public about the financial supports available to refurbish vacant and derelict properties, including the popular Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant.

When owning a vacant property, it can be difficult to work out the options available for bringing it back into use. People are therefore encouraged to come along and find out further information on the following issues –

· Incentives available for property re-use

· Queries on planning

· Queries on ownership issues

· Any other vacancy or dereliction queries

Please drop into one of the events below:

DOUGLAS: Wednesday, 20th November, 11am to 1pm, Douglas Library, Douglas Village Shopping Centre, Douglas, Cork T12 HDY2

MAYFIELD: Wednesday, 27th November, 11am to 1pm, Frank O'Connor Library, Old Youghal Road, Mayfield, Cork T23 E651

CITY CENTRE: Friday, 6th December, 11am to 1pm, Cork City Library, 57-61 Grand Parade, Cork T12NT99

·

No appointment necessary.

For more information about vacancy, dereliction, and housing grants and schemes, please see www.corkcity.ie or email us at derelictsites@corkcity.ie and vacantproperties@corkcity.ie