Cork councillors told of scheme’s rollout to tackle rural regeneration

A scheme is progressing around the country whereby vacant private properties that are in need of an upgrade receive grant aid for residential use in the social housing sector.

Cork County Council members were told of the scheme’s introduction after councillors complained the authority was ignoring its own policies on house building and rural regeneration. It was claimed housing and purchasing for social housing in Co Cork had been confined to larger urban areas.

A likely solution to the regeneration of villages and small town is the Repair and Leasing scheme.

It is aimed at owners of properties that have been vacant for a minimum of 12 months and who wish to enter into a leasing arrangement with the county council or a voluntary housing agency to make the property available for social housing.

It is part of the Government’s Rebuilding Ireland programme, with €140m allocated towards the cost of funding necessary repairs to properties up to 2021. Some €32m will be made available this year to aid 800 likely properties.

It has been piloted in Carlow and Waterford local authorities since October.

The update on the scheme came as Cllr Gerard Murphy (FG) accused Cork County Council of ignoring house-building projects in small towns and villages.

In terms of providing social housing, the council said it was ahead of targets to build new homes and buy others in an effort to address the housing crisis. The progress in social housing is mainly confined to larger urban areas, councillors were told.

Mr Murphy, based in Newmarket, said concentrating new projects on larger towns would contribute further to the decline in rural populations.

He said: “This contradicts the council’s own policy for the regeneration of villages and smaller towns.”

Cllr Melissa Mullane (SF) agreed, noting there were a lot of vacant premises in villages that were crying out for regeneration.

The council’s director of housing, Maurice Manning, said there was merit in what councillors were saying. He said the Repair and Leasing scheme would be ideal for regenerating rural areas and providing additional housing for the 4,241 applicants currently on the council’s housing waiting list.

Under the scheme, property owners agree to lease a grant-aided house for a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years.

A local authority or voluntary housing agency can pay a maximum of €40,000 for repair works necessary to bring the property up to standard.

The maximum payable rent is 80%, or 85% in the case of apartments, of the current market rent, with the cost of repairs offset against the rental payment until the value of the refurbishment works is repaid.

Mr Manning produced a list of schemes showing progress with social housing in north Cork, though most of these were in larger urban areas.

Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind) said Co Cork’s municipal districts should ensure private property owners are made aware of the scheme.

Cllr Ian Doyle (FF) said the region is “crying out” for the scheme and that he knows of many areas where it could be taken up.