Extension of Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant to rental homes will help boost supply in the sector – Cummins

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant will be expanded to include rental homes from May 2023 which will help boost the supply of properties in the private rented sector, according to Fine Gael Senator John Cummins.

Senator Cummins, Fine Gael’s housing spokesperson in the Seanad, welcomed the development which he and several Fine Gael colleagues have called for due to the success of the scheme.

Senator Cummins said: “Minister of State Jennifer Carroll MacNeil confirmed to me in the Seanad and provided more detail that the refurbishment scheme will be extended to include properties which will be made available for rent from the 1^st May, as well as reviewing the grant rates applicable.

“This is extremely welcome news and builds on the extension of the scheme to vacant and derelict one-off properties in rural areas and cities.”

The current grant scheme provides for a grant of up to €30,000 to refurbish a vacant property of at least 2 years for use as a principal private residence. An additional top up grant of €20,000 is available where a property is confirmed to be derelict or in need of structural work. A clawback of the grant is in place if the property ceases to be used as a principal private residence during before the expiration of 10 years.

Speaking in the Seanad today, Senator Cummins said: “Given the context of a reduced number of rental properties in the market and the ongoing challenges being experienced with the availability of rental properties in both urban and rural settings, I believe now is the time to extend this scheme to those who wish to refurbish a vacant or derelict property and rent it out to the private market.

“I would suggest that the 10 year clawback clause remains in place to ensure the property stays in the private rental market for a period of at least 10 years. This would undoubtedly open up the scheme to many more individuals and families who own a derelict or vacant property and either don’t have the financial firepower to be able to renovate it or who do not wish to live in it themselves because they are already adequately housed but at the same time don’t sell the property due to its historic family links.

“The SCSI launched a report on the ‘Real Cost of Renovation’ today which asked for the vacant property refurbishment grant amounts to be lifted from the current €30k/€50k and it is welcome that it was confirmed that these grant rates are currently being examined ahead of the expansion of the scheme on May 1^st”.

“So far almost 1400 applications have been reported by Local Authorities to date which is hugely significant. I said when the scheme was expanded in Q4 of last year to include rural one-off houses and those within city areas that the target of bringing 2000 derelict and vacant properties back into use by 2025 was easily achievable.

“Given this week’s confirmation of its extension to include properties being offered for rent, I believe that a doubling of this target is attainable by 2025 which would have a really positive impact on the supply of homes for rent and ownership,” Senator Cummins concluded.