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Ireland is grappling with a series of challenges that are impacting our citizens’ quality of life. TheJournal.ie is examining solutions to these issues which have worked or are currently being trialled in other states and asking: Would It Work Here?
THERE ARE CURRENTLY 198,358 homes lying empty in Ireland – that’s 27 times the number of people (7,167) stuck in emergency accommodation.
According to the Simon Community, almost 13% of total housing stock is vacant in Ireland – which is twice the level expected in a functioning housing market.
The homeless service released a research paper this month ‘Empty Homes: Unlocking Solutions to the Housing and Homeless Crisis‘ which contained a breakdown of the number of vacant housing units in counties and cities across the country.
In Dublin, there are 3,247 people in emergency accommodation and 35,293 empty units, while in Cork there are 269 people living in emergency accommodation and 21,287 vacant housing units.
In Limerick there are 252 adults living in emergency accommodation while there are 8,463 vacant housing units.
What are we doing about it?
This problem has been growing over the past decade, but little has been done to tackle it.
Last month the Housing Minister Simon Coveney rolled out the repair and leasing scheme nationwide. It identifies vacant properties and secures them for social housing.
It has been piloted in Waterford and Carlow since October with €6 million in funding, an additional €26 million is now being provided for the national rollout this year.
Minister Coveney said the pilot has been “working well” in Waterford and Carlow, with around 59 vacant properties currently being made into social housing.
Based on this level of interest in the scheme, I am confident that the initiative can deliver up to 800 homes this year.
“Property owners see the opportunity the scheme presents for them – upfront financing of the cost of repairs – in fact they need not even get involved in arranging the works, and a secure and reliable income from regular rental payments, without having to take on landlord responsibilities.”
The housing vacant team looked at it,
Spreading the word
In the UK, local authorities have empty homes officers who identify empty homes and reach out to owners and highlight their options to restore the building.
Right now, Ireland doesn’t have empty homes officers – instead, it relies on employees of local authorities to take that extra time to go out and identify potential vacant houses. Waterford County Council had to reorganise staff to achieve this.
The Peter McVerry Trust is calling on Minister Coveney to consider empty homes officers as an option here.
The homeless and housing charity hosted an Empty Homes Conference in Dublin on Thursday.
CEO Pat Doyle said that empty homes “offer a cheap, effective and quick solution to the acute lack of housing.
There needs to be boots on the ground and local authorities also need the resources to hire these teams of empty homes officers. These officers would get out there to identify empty homes, engage with the property owners and make them aware of government grant schemes like the repair and leasing initiative.
“Empty Homes Officers would also serve as a one stop shop for information and advice for empty home owners.”
Head of policy and communications with Simon Communities of Ireland Niamh Randall echoed this. She told TheJournal.ie, “One of our recommendations is looking at identifying who propery owners are, why the property is vacant and what the barriers are between leasing it, selling it or letting it. So very clearly having someone whose job it is to do this would make absolute sense.
“If it’s somebody’s job to manage, monitor, keep in contact with owners, keep in contact with the right personnel in the local authority – I think it could make everybody’s life a little bit easier.”
How does it work?
David Gibbens is Policy Lead at the Empty Homes Network in the UK. He told TheJournal.ie, “It’s essentially a network of practitioners whose job revolves around dealing with empty homes.”
Speaking about how it started in England, Gibbens said, “The first empty homes officer was appointed in 1992 in Southampton and in the mid 90s you got what I would call the first wave of empty homes officers. I was appointed in 1996, that’s when it really started and caught fire I suppose.”
It’s a whole range of different things that you do depending on what tools you have available to you. You’re looking at persuading – why is it empty, how can we help?
“We had housing associations that were buying empty properties at that time because of the nature of the housing market, I was involved in sourcing those properties.
“We were looking at living over the shop conversions where there was redundant commercial space that we would get converted into housing.
It’s a lot about persuasion, a lot about looking at the barriers and trying to help owners overcome them.
He estimates that there are now approximately 88 full time empty homes officers in England.
Would it work here?
“Absolutely yes”, says Gibbens.
Empty homes practitioners would be the perfect compliment to making the most of the things that are being rolled out here.
He added that he thinks it would work anywhere, describing how Scotland started appointing empty homes officers.
“I think they may have started with three or four posts and they now have a situation where 17 out of the 32 Scottish authorities have got an empty homes officer.”
In the UK, the officers are employed in local authorities with very occasional exceptions where they’re located with the housing association if the association has a close partnership with the local authority.
Peter McVerry wants to see the officers employed by local authorities here also, this was also backed by Randall from the Simon Community:
“One of the key things that would be great would be if there was agreement that this was needed across the board in every local authority and we decided what the skill set was for that particular role so that we’re recruiting like for like – so we have similar people with similar skill sets coming in to do the particular role.”
So is this something the Department of Housing is considering?
When asked by TheJournal.ie, it said a national database of empty houses will be developed that will identify the homes and the reasons why they’re empty.
“Work is progressing on identifying possible sources of data and information to assist in the most efficient means of compiling such a database.”
However, the Department would not say if empty homes officers were being considered as part of that.
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But are people willing to move? I know if I was homeless I’d accept a nice house down the country. Has to be better than being homeless! Cheaper cost of living, better schools, less crime and believe it or not, it’s not all turf and donkeys
What do we want?
Free houses in our chosen location where everyone else pays market value
When do we want them?
NOW
@Cathal:
You sound like a right banker Cathal.
The homeless crisis is de facto government policy. The Irish state deliberately allows housing to be kept as a scarce and expensive commodity because the rentier class gets very rich from this state of affairs. This neoliberal travesty has been going on for 30 years. We have all of the resources, land, skilled labour, materials etc. to provide everyone with a decent and affordable home. But to do so would impact on the profiteering of the elite and so it’s not done.
This is why we see NAMA presiding over a vast firesale of land and property assets at knockdown prices to the international vultures (many masquerading as charities to dodge tax) while a domestic homeless epidemic rages and hundreds of thousands of families are crushed under spiraling rents and mortgage debt. It’s a feeding frenzy for the speculative sharks and the blood in the water as ever is that of the working class while mouthpieces like Cathal scream their approval from the sidelines.
Every vote for FF, FG, Labour or bogus Independents is a vote to evict families and children on to the streets, a vote to enrich the vulture funds and a vote to escalate the homeless epidemic.
I always pass your comments by Benjy
@Bean Ui Mise:
But are unable to stop yourself commenting on the comment ?That will teach me:)
@Bean Ui Mise:
You only have to read Benji’s comments once, its generally the same comment posted time and time again so you are not missing much. This type of trolling on a story just ruins the ability to have a coherent discussion on the matter.
@Benjy Mooney: No, he sounds like the rest of us sick of your freeloading crap.
@Benjy Mooney: Nothing will teach you. Your four years of school before expulsion didn’t.
@Nick Allen:
I’m forced to explain the reality of the monetary system and the macro economy to you time and time again because you appear to be a bit dim. I’m to be commended for my patience really.
Soccer T, one problem about a lot of these “nice houses in the country” is that they were built in the middle of nowhere. No shops, buses, unfinished roads, miles from schools without any thought.
@Benjy Mooney: I hear you dude, but the rest of these dumb Irish fools have their heads in their asses. Wake up and save your country ,fools
It’s the sense of entitlement that annoys me , expecting the government & taxpayers to provide you with a home , you only have to look a council / local authority flats , estates and how people don’t appreciate them , if you are waiting for a house and not working you shouldn’t get a choice where you are housed .
Your mostly right Gus but if 1/27th of these house’s are close to small towns villages which you can almost say with certainty they are, then why wouldn’t people move?
@Patrick McCann:
Cheers Patrick. A lot of the regular posters here are establishment party hacks paid to peddle the agenda of the rich and powerful. It’s not foolishness on their part, but ideology.
Wally> You have accused many people of being paid hacks but that is just your paranoid delusions. How about you answer how you have an income this time? You still post the exact same comments well after it has been explained how they are incoherent, wrong and just simply lies.
@Paddy it would have to have good prospects for employment, social needs and links to the city to see friends and family. Isolating someone down the country, especially a single parent with no help of baby sitting or social supports is going to cause trouble with mental health. Or is this just another way to punish women with crisis pregnancies, remember we made them have the children.
@Benjy Mooney:
There is no need to try an explain economics things to me. When I was in university my lectures did a very good job at teaching finance. In particular, they thought me how to objectively review information and make an informed,non biased interpretation of the data presented. This is something which you are very obviously lacking.
You should try looking up the definition of ‘confirmation bias’. I don’t believe that I have ever come across anyone who suffers from this as much as you do.
@Kal Ipers:
@ Wally…”You have accused many people of being paid hacks but that is just your paranoid delusions.”
This is the typical approach from Wally where he simply makes up facts to suit his argument.
@Nick Allen:
Your lecturers didn’t teach you. They indoctrinated you with an ideological illusion.
For example, you were completely unaware that commercial banks create new money each time they issue a loan until I educated you. And you’re still under the illusion that currency issuers face budget constraints within the currency that they issue despite the irrefutable evidence to the contrary.
@Nick Allen: A coherent discussion on the journal? Do you stop by much?
@Benjy Mooney:
I can safely say the only thing you have ever educated me on is that there are still people in Ireland with such poor critical thinking ability. Your inability to be objective and to actually understand the facts presented is quite remarkable.
@Amy M:
:)
Wally> It is clear I am a landlord because I have said so several times. Unlike you who with multiple logins has changed your story several times. So are you unemployed living off the state or on disability as you claimed both. True hypocrite who must be using others in ways you claim are being exploited.
Solidarity with the ordinary people like Kal who works to try and improve himself and contributes to society and to the exchequer and doesn’t try to live of other people’s tax payments.
Wally> I have contributed more to the exchequer than you ever have or will. I house people so they aren’t homeless. I would class a parasite more closely to somebody who lives off the state and their parents and doesn’t work when they can. I think most people would see it that way too.
Your correct in fact due to no experience in this field the government is both deceitfully and inexperienced in how to handle a crisis .
This FG and previous one are always the sitting on the gate post to see what happens Then get advisory body to conduct studies ( loosing time )
Then looking for the financial tools to implement the procedures and then looking for contractors who are at the most of the time in other dilemas
Ireland unfortunately is still run by serious unskilled politicians
@Kal Ipers:
“I house people so they aren’t homeless”
You house people to make a profit you eejit. You’re a parasite, not a charity.
@Gus Sheridan
Your right some of those houses in rural areas have lots of problems, but surely their better than a hotel?
@Soccer T’s: the problem with houses in the country is that thanks to the crooked FF government, developers
just built virtually anywhere the liked without thought to the infrastructure. Estates were plonked at the edge of small villages with
no shops or decent transport links. Plenty of brown envelopes and little actual joined up thought. Thank you FF.
@Benjy Mooney: a big banker
Of course it would work here, but the coalition government is ideologically against any such idea. FF & FG will always side with the developer, it’s one of life’s certainties
An interesting fact…socia,l council housing has been built forever..but once certain types of people get it..give them 5 years hey presto now I’ve the money to buy it…htf did that happen..
Usually they are paid off over number of years like a mortgage. In the majority of cases when people can afford to pay council rent they then are able to get jobs when available. You have to remember that a good many people in affordable housing are the disabled and retirees.
They are not ‘empty’ houses….. they are someone else’s property. Might be an old person in s Nursing home, might be an emigrant working abroad. The idea that the State should seize them is outrageous
Yep, better to look at the current disincentives to renting the property out. Start with tax and take it from there.
Open to correction here but I don’t think they would seize any property, merely liaise with the owners to figure out why it’s empty in the first place and if it can be used.
Personally I’d be in favour of a use it or lose it approach. If as you said living abroad or sitting on an abandoned property then you should have to pay tax on it. Not only is it an eyesore, it is a waste of finite resources and can lead to anti-social behaviour
Why should you pay tax on it…..you own it ?
“…Scotland started appointed empty homes officers” Any chance the Journal could start appointing a sub-editor or two?
Local authorities should stick to fixing pot holes. We need a dedicated housing agency in this country.
We don’t need an extra layer off public servants we need in councils and the line to do their jobs.Use common sense not red tape, Politicians and money can only do so much. People in Housing departments need to do this no more layers or quangos we have enough off that sh*t.
A brilliant idea and not only, to have been proved to work . The only problem is the greedy developers won’t like it as their call to action would be removed “housing crisis”. Imagine how much nicer it would be living around these one derelict houses. Just get on and do it rather than destroying undeveloped land especially in an urban environment.
So if you’ve emergrated, for a few years to pay for your house or left the family 200 year home that your parents paid for and died in and left it to you ,the Grover nment are going to take it of you ,I ithink they call it stealing in the real world ,
Saying that there’s x amount of homeless and x amount of vacant houses is grossly oversimplifying the issue. If someone has bought and paid for a house and they choose to leave it vacant for whatever reason, that is their right. If the government want them on the market then maybe they should look at the fact that we’ve one of the highest capital gains tax rates in the world as well as ridiculous taxes on landlords if they choose to rent it out. Often it’s easier to just leave it sitting there appreciating in value.
Good point!
It should be remembered that when CGT was reduced to 20% by Finance Minister Charlie McCreevey during the 90′s, its overall yield to Exchequer skyrocketed, and far exceeded higher rate tax take annually, till crash of zero eight.
With tighter and more cerebral Banking Regulation now in place, any worries over such a move fuelling another property price bubble should abate.
FF should push this on FG’s return from the SPD’s junkets, and have it apply to not just property, but share and other financial instrument trading also.
Such a move should loosen Ireland’s property market, generally.
The article says that the vacant houses officer would approach owners to offer a proposal that may be mutually beneficial. Repair a house and give an income in some cases. It’s not simplicitic but it is common sense. Empty houses benefit nobody and is wasteful when so many need a home.
Communism becomes very popular with fg ff and Labour when its other people’s assets their sharing out
well said Stephen , whatever you think of aaa pbp they are correct to note that it goes against FF FG ideology to help the homeless. Shivers.
Appoint more local authority staff? No.
How about just redeploying all the staff who have been boarding up publicly owned homes to refurbishing them?
The state already has compulsory purchase legislation, just do it for housing acquisition.
When are going to refocus local authority management & resources to basic essential services?
The state does not have compulsory powers to buy housing of somebody to provide housing to others. They have the power to compulsory purchase property for infrastructural development. Otherwise the state would have the.power to say there aren’t enough people living in your home so we are buying it off you. They can do it for derelict housing that has vacant for 5 years after a very long process which can at any point be stopped if the person puts it on the open market. So your idea is not workable nor legal.
Repair and lease scheme ! So u fix it up with a loan from the government and then pay a loan and tax . people can have a second home and leave it empty for many reasons they likely have paid tax when they bought it and continue to pay property tax . sort out the housing crisis minister but stop robbing people who are trying to prepare for their retirement or their kids future .
It’s not clear what they mean by vacant property. Are they referring to estates held by nana for the state or privately owned houses belong to private citizens/paye people
@Miriam Kane: To the idiots in the AAA/PBP there’s no difference.
They just want everything free without having to work.
The question that should be asked Is Who ownes these houses. Is it some family that worked every hour of the week & bought a 2nd holiday home or are they social houses that are boarded up.
My brothers house is empty 23 years..5 bedrooms .I personally think it’s scandalous..he lives in another country
It is your brother’s house, what he does with it is his business…..
We need a fact check on Coveny’s figures.
A side issue, but typical of how the public and civil services are run in this country; we’ll just double or triple job a person where other countries specifically employ someone.
…you mean everywhere else where existing staff are deployed, whereas Ireland Inc solution is to hire a complete 2nd or 3rd layer of paper pushers…
Throwaway are you implying our public services are over worked? It might be true in some cases in the health services but that’s about it. Thanks for the laugh though.
There are at least 6 houses in my estate empty and lot listed for sale as far as I know, probably in nama. 10 minutes to blanch centre, 30 minutes to city centre.
@Jimmyjoe Wallace:
Was talking to a letting agent recently who said buy to lets that have been taken over by the banks, as they come empty as tenants move out naturally, the banks refuse to allow them to be rented back out.
They then sit on them and feed them slowly on to the sales market so they don’t flood it. The letting agent says he has lost 100 properties like that with another 50 to go.
If you were buying a house now if you view 10, at least 7 would be bank sales.
MostTDs are landlords in one way or another. Those turkeys won’t vote for Christmas.
If coveney pulls this off he’s a hero
How many of them have pyrite?
@Benjy Mooney: i suspected this. How can people like Nick and Mrs M live with themseleves for taking such a stance.How evil can a mainstream party like FF or FG be. They should be declared illegal organsiations. I will leave here for good if any of them are elected in the upcoming election
Back when I graduated having top grades from a top uni, enabled some of us to make good money, buy without a mortgage at a young age and even have savings. Sad days when not even that cohort can make it, when the only options available for young people and families are to rent at outrageous prices or to be enslaved by a bank. Having a mortgage is not owning, nor is wealth, it is ” Debt” since no one has a life free of risks.
Some of the empty houses depicted above may be examples of that; the loss of a job and subsequent emigration to pay those mortgages. They can’t live in them, nor can rent them as having a tenant could prove expensive.
The government should be building new units and refurbishing those left behind by developers. But also it is key to improve working conditions, such as eliminating zero hours contracts. This meaaures could minimise the devastating effect of the new normal ” The loss of a job for life”.
Course it might. Which is why we won’t do it. Land ownership is God here. “Tish de land by. Tish all about de Land.” Bull McCabe was right. So was Dan O’Connell the Liberator, who encountering a poor man one day and him breaking stones along the highways and byways for penny-a-day walls was asked by the poor man “Sor, tell me, is it true dear oul Ireland shall soon be free?” To which Dan replied “Whether tish thrue or not my man you’ll shtill be breakin’ shtones!”
Tragedy and farce.
Who would want out their house if they are not using it.. Renting out involves the PRTB, tenants rights after 6 months, revenue return, insurance, bad tenants and trouble with neighbours, paying agents. Removing tenants is a nightmare.
Renting your house out if you are not using it is full of problems for the owner. PRTB, after 6months the tenants have the right to stay, tax returns, insurance, bad tenants and problems with neighbours.. Not worth the hassle..
have your say