Cork County Council to let tenants move into homes before upgrade works are completed

Vacant properties will be advertised earlier as the council seeks to reduce lengthy re-letting delays

The move comes after a senior council official disclosed that the average time taken to bring unoccupied houses back into use last year was 42 weeks. Picture: PA

New tenants renting some Cork County Council houses will have to tolerate upgrade works being carried out after they move in as part of a plan to reduce the time it takes to return vacant properties to use.

The move comes after a senior council official disclosed that the average time taken to bring unoccupied houses back into use last year was 42 weeks.

Keith Jones, the local authority’s director of housing, said that while some major works would have to be undertaken when properties are vacant, more minor works would be carried out while tenants are in situ.

In addition, the council plans to advertise vacant properties to prospective tenants on its online Choice-Based Letting (CBL) site almost as soon as work begins, to ensure they are occupied more quickly.

Mr Jones outlined the measures at a meeting of the county council’s Southern Division after Fianna Fáil councillors Patrick Mulcahy and Patrick Donovan raised concerns about turnaround times.

The Southern Division is the most populous of the council’s three divisions. It stretches from the Kerry border at Ballyvourney to Youghal in the east and encompasses many of the county’s largest towns, including Carrigaline, Midleton, Cobh, Carrigtwohill and Macroom.

Mr Jones said there are currently 138 vacant properties in the Southern Division, of which 44% are new-build homes.

He said 82 properties are ready to be let. Of these, 55 have been offered to tenants who are awaiting occupancy, while the remainder are progressing through the allocation process.

Mr Mulcahy said it was concerning that the average vacant house took 42 weeks to return to use but welcomed Mr Jones’s plans to speed up the process.

Mr Donovan said he appreciated that some houses require significant work before they can be reoccupied.

Independent Ireland councillor Ger Curley said he was taken aback by the amount of work carried out on one vacant property in his hometown of Cobh.

Mr Curley said he had previously visited the house after it had been vacated by a family and believed it had been maintained to such a high standard that he would have moved into it himself.

“It was in pristine condition and the whole place was taken apart. I would have moved into that house no problem. It feels like money is being wasted,” he said.

Assistant county chief executive Michael Lynch replied that the local authority “is not in the business of wasting money” and that if a house was suitable for occupation, it would be reallocated as soon as possible.

Mr Donovan and Mr Mulcahy also called for more affordable homes in Carrigaline and the east Cork region.

Mr Jones said the council intends to develop significantly more affordable housing and low-cost rental units in the future. He said this is why the local authority is assessing its own land banks and seeking to acquire additional land from the private sector.