Vacant properties scheme may be expanded

Tax incentives or grants to allow for the refurbishment of vacant properties could be extended to include towns as well as major cities as part of efforts to solve the housing crisis.

Figures published by the Central Statistics Office from the 2016 census have shown that the vacancy rate in houses and apartments last year was 12.3 per cent, which dropped to 9.4 per cent when holiday homes were excluded.

The Minister for Housing, Simon Coveney, said he was considering further measures aimed to convert a greater number of vacant properties into homes.

Mr Coveney said he would produce a further element of his Rebuilding Ireland plan, a vacant homes strategy, in the coming weeks.

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This will provide a deeper analysis of the problem of vacant homes in Ireland.

He said one possible option was extending the Living Cities Initiative that applied in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny to smaller towns across the country, such as Clonmel in Co Tipperary.

Tax breaks

The scheme is a series of tax breaks designed to regenerate historic areas, such as Georgian quarters, and applies to residential and commercial developments in areas where buildings are typically more than 100-years-old.

Mr Coveney said the scheme could be extended outside the cities and the criteria for qualifying buildings loosened.

A number of restrictions would still have to remain in place, however.

“That is an option we are considering,” Mr Coveney said, adding that it would allow those such as business owners to convert parts of their premises – such as areas ‘above the shop’ – to homes or apartments.

But he added that the decision on enacting such a policy would be a matter for the Minister for Finance in the October budget.

He also said he was working with the Department of Health to "tweak" the Fair Deal scheme for nursing-home support to make it easier for those in nursing homes to rent out their properties that would otherwise be vacant.

Another proposal being examined by the Housing Agency is doubling the property tax liable on vacant homes that are not holiday homes, although this is unlikely to be adopted.

Mr Coveney also defended the help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers of newly built homes, which he said was likely to continue for its intended duration to the end of 2019.

The Department of Finance has, however, tendered for an independent review of the scheme, which will be completed in advance of the next budget.

Fianna Fáil, whose acquiescence is required for the budget to pass, has also pushed for a review.