Croí Cónaithe yet to win rural Cavan hearts

A government scheme providing grants to refurbish vacant properties for use as a principal private residence is set to be extended to rural dwellings.

Launched last July, the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) fund is a follow on from the city scheme unveiled the previous December. A key action in the government's Housing for All, the initiative aims to kick-start the conversion of a vacant properties for residential use.

It provides grant aid of up to €30,000 for refurbishment, with a maximum top-up of up to €20,000 for previously derelict properties. To qualify, properties must have been vacant for at least two years and been built before 1993; with proof of both vacancy and ownership required.

Clawback conditions apply if the applicant ceases to reside in the dwelling as a principal private residence. It is expected that applicants would normally live in the qualifying property for at least five years from the date of subsidy. If they choose to sell within 10 years they must reimburse the State an element of subsidy- 100% up to five years; 75% between five and 10 years; or nothing after 10 years.

The scheme was explained to councillors at the October council meeting by senior engineer John Wilson and vacant homes officer, Sinead Gibbs.

Ms Gibbs told councillors how the scheme, in its present form, does not apply to rural areas. But this was in the pipeline.

“It will be expanded over the coming months,” she said, with an expectation that further information might be made available in November.

To date, the council had received seven applications, and 54 expressions of interest. Admittedly, it was said that “a lot” of the expressions of interest were in relation to properties located in rural areas.

Repair and Lease Scheme

A Repair and Lease Scheme, first introduced in 2018 and offering an interest free loan of up to €60,000 to home owners willing to rent a property to a local authority or Approved Housing Body for a 10 to 20-year period, had attracted 34 applications, none of which were successful to date.

Fine Gael’s TP O’Reilly welcomed that the extension of Croí Cónaithe to rural areas was “coming down the tracks”.

Fianna Fáil’s Patricia Walsh welcomed the scheme, pointing to the fact there were houses lying vacant in the Cavan Town area for up on three decades or more.

It was suggested too by Director of Services Eoin Doyle that the introduction of a Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) in an attempt to increase the number of properties available to buy or rent would encourage more people to put previously disused properties “on the market”.

But Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly queried the perceived success of the proposed tax, and Croí Cónaithe.

She felt that many landowners in Cavan want to “do [properties] up but they do not want to sell them. That’s the problem.”

Serviced Sites Scheme

Details of the proposed Serviced Sites Scheme, unveiled only last month by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, were also outlined at the meeting.

That scheme will allow councils to sell serviced sites within town environs at a reduced rate. Potential self-builders could save up to €30,000 on such sites. However, the executive expressed a concern about financing that scheme - who would pick up the tab if the council buys a site for €50,000 and sells it for less.

No sites had been identified to date, with Mr Wilson telling councillors that there was a “body of work to be done” yet in respect of the new scheme.

“We have to go through the economics,” he said, adding that talks were ongoing with the department over how the financial gap between purchase and sale price might be met.

Fianna Fail’s Clifford Kelly said such confirmation would be “important”.

“If we’re going to do it, we need to have the tools to do it,” he said, while highlighting the importance of infill development in towns and villages across the county.