New website aims to get housing out of the ‘doghouse’

A new website, which aims to connect the owners of vacant properties to potential buyers, will make dereliction more visible and uncover housing opportunities in cities, towns and villages, says its creator.

Dog-house.ie, created by James McGauran, invites members of the public to post images of derelict and vacant properties in their area. So far, the public has contributed images and location details of some 300 properties.

“The aim is to help initiate the development of derelict and vacant properties into living spaces,” says McGauran, who launched Dog-house.ie in July. He says while local authorities keep derelict site registers, they are not visual. “I found they are not very visible. They are just lists of addresses. I wanted to make something that is visual and really showed the extent of the problem and all of the opportunities.”

While his initial objective is to raise awareness, McGauran will add features to enable vacant and derelict property owners to connect with potential buyers. “Dog-house.ie is going to be a network where builders can flag their interest in renovating a property. If a buyer, an architect, a builder and an owner can come together, this can lead to the development of a property.”

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Owners interested in selling their listed vacant or derelict property can claim its listing on the site. The site will then charge an advertising fee to promote its sale.

Properties posted to the site include homes and shops in Dublin 8, period houses in Waterford, a modern family home in Limerick, as well as properties in tourist spots Kilmuckridge in Co Wexford and Waterville and Valentia in Co Kerry.

“I think the state of Irish housing is a disgrace,” says McGauran, who says he chose the name Doghouse because it’s a term meaning ‘disgrace’ or ‘disfavour’. “There is a whole generation of people that are renting and have no opportunity to build a family home, so that’s where it came from.”

A structural engineer by profession, he has worked with builders and architects “to bring buildings back to life”, he says.

“It’s not a zero-sum game where I lose and you win,” says McGauran. “If somebody brings a house back to life, everyone wins - the seller wins, the neighbours win, the town wins, the new occupant wins. Everyone can win, and I’m trying to make sure everyone can do that.”

Funding

Those interested in renovating a formerly vacant property might be interested in a new grant scheme, available to first-time buyers and other owner-occupiers willing to refurbish derelict and vacant homes in towns and villages around the country. Under the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund, grants of up to €50,000 will be on offer.

The fund is intended to support home ownership and tackle vacancy in regional towns and villages by directly supporting the refurbishment of empty homes. There are plans for a similar scheme for cities to be announced later this year. Costs that are to be covered under the scheme include structural works, roofing, painting, building services and professional fees.

There is no accurate data on the number of vacant properties in the State. An Oireachtas Housing Committee report estimates that there could be 137,000 of them.