Homeless adults outnumbered two to one by vacant council homes

There were nearly twice as many vacant local authority homes as homeless adults across the country at the end of last year, according to a new report.

A review of local authority performance for 2014, just published by the Government’s National Oversight and Audit Commission, found local authorities had 4,919 vacant homes on December 31st last year, when the number of homeless adults in emergency accommodation across the State was 2,649.

Turnaround times

According to the audit commission the large numbers of vacant council-owned homes was largely due to lengthy average turnaround times between tenancies. The auditors report said “average re-letting times” ranged “from a low of 10 weeks in Laois to a high of up to 82 weeks in Cork City”.

The Local Government Management Agency which supplied the figures to the audit commission, said caution should be exercised in their interpretation. It said national policy to refurbish housing previously unused and classed as void, could impact “negatively” on turnaround times and local authority performance. It was also said there was “little or no demand” for some social housing units in a number of authorities “due to their rural or isolated location”.

However the audit commission said the level of vacancy also reflected “the extent to which the authority is pro-active in placing tenants in vacated properties within the shortest possible timeframe”.

Average re-letting time in 13 local authorities was more than 30 weeks in 2014. In 11 areas the average was less than 20 weeks, including South Dublin at 11.1 weeks and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown at 13.6 weeks.

Review performance

The commission said it would be “beneficial” for local authorities to “review their performance in this area” to ensure a timely turnaround of vacant units.

According to the report numbers of vacant council-owned homes varied from 8 per cent in Co Roscommon and Co Leitrim to just 0.5 per cent in Monaghan and South Dublin.

There was also a significant variation in the average cost of pre-letting repairs ranging from €1,267 in Co Cavan to €35,013 in Cork City, with a median cost of €8,375.