Tax breaks, expanded grants, modified buildings regulations and dedicated teams in local authorities are all essential to tackle urban vacancy and dereliction, a coalition of building, environmental and social organisations has said.
The Vacant to Vibrant Building Alliance, an initiative spearheaded by the Irish Green Building Council, has published a set of recommendations to “accelerate action on vacancy” and transform unused buildings into homes.
At least 120,000 homes could be delivered through the rehabilitation of unused housing, but this figure is likely to be considerably higher, the alliance said.
It does not include the potential of “above-the-shop” apartments, or additional homes that could be created through “intensification of use, such as adding an extra floor to a building or using the yards of these buildings”.
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While vacant homes officers have been allocated to local authorities, the alliance believed this to be an insufficient resource to deal with the levels of dereliction and vacancy in larger urban councils. It recommended the creation of multidisciplinary adaptive reuse programme offices, initially in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Sligo.
These would be responsible for acquisition through agreement or compulsory purchase, resolving title issues, and delivering complex projects involving the redevelopment of vacant and derelict buildings.
Each office is expected to require between 20 to 50 employees, including architects, surveyors, engineers, technicians and administrative staff. An adaptive reuse team was established in Dublin City Council three years ago with three staff, but has yet to deliver any homes.
While Budget 2026 included taxation measures to tackle vacancy, “bolder” measures were needed, including a time-limited capital gains tax exemption for those who sell vacant properties, a 10-year tax relief from rental income on refurbished vacant properties converted to residential, and the replacement of the Vacant Homes Tax with a Vacant Property Tax, the alliance said. This tax should increase annually by 5 per cent from year two and be collected by the Revenue Commissioners.
[ The Irish Times view on dereliction Opens in new window ]
The alliance is also recommending an expansion of Croí Cónaithe refurbishment grant to cover complex multi-unit redevelopments and adaptive reuse projects, by basing grants on the number of homes provided rather than the current “per building” system.
Finally, building regulations should be reviewed with new guidance documents designed to deal with the adaptation of older buildings, the alliance said. Current regulations were “primarily designed for new construction, disadvantaging adaptive reuse, especially of traditionally built buildings and mixed-use”.
Alliance chairman, corporate law specialist Philip Lee, said “bolder and more integrated policies are needed to accelerate action on vacancy”.
The alliance’s recommendations provide a pathway to deliver a significant number of homes “quickly, at lower cost to society and with fewer carbon emissions than new build, all while reinvigorating and re-energising our villages, towns and cities”, he said.
Marion Jammet, head of policy with the Irish Green Building Council, a non-profit organisation which represents professionals involved in sustainable construction, said adapting the Croí Cónaithe grant to support “above the shop” living was essential. “For complex projects, upfront feasibility study grants are also needed to reduce risk and help kick-start the renovation process.”
[ More than 14,500 properties are vacant across DublinOpens in new window ]
Edward McAuley, director of practice and policy at the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland, said a “comprehensive suite of fiscal measures was needed to accelerate action to more effectively unlock the potential to deliver homes from vacant dwellings in Ireland”.
Tom Gilligan, director of services at Mayo County Council, said vacancy and dereliction remained a significant challenge in many rural towns and villages, “but with the right policies and incentives we can turn many of these buildings into new homes right in the heart of our communities, thus reinvigorating our urban centres.”
