No cap on schemes to bring houses back into use, says Cork councillor

There is no cap on the amount of properties that can avail of housing schemes to bring properties back into use, a Labour councillor has said.

Councillor for Cork City South East, Peter Horgan, has urged those interested in utilising housing schemes to avail of them following information from the council’s housing directorate.

He had asked Cork City Council for detail on progress under the repair and lease scheme as well as the buy and renew scheme.

The Repair and Lease projects provide for a mix of unit types from traditional houses to apartments, a spokesperson for the directorate explained.

The approved projects under construction, formerly derelict properties, will provide 18 apartments in 2025. 

Refurbishment costs in respect of Repair and Lease units is capped at €80,000 per unit, with total expenditure to date in respect of projects at €640,000.

Target

Cork City Council’s target for the delivery of Repair and Lease properties under Housing for All is a total of 48 homes, with 14 completed, and a further 27 at various stages of the programme.

Additionally, a total of five properties, one 3-bedroom terraced and four 3-bedroom semi-detached, were acquired utilising the Buy & Renew Scheme and incorporated into the housing delivery programme at a cost of €938,875.

Refurbishment of one of those properties is complete with a turn-around time of 23 weeks and a cost of €45,051. 

The balance of properties which required more substantial refurbishment works are under construction and scheduled for delivery during the first three months of 2025. Both the Repair and Lease, and Buy and Renew Schemes and are expected to expand further in 2025 and 2026.

Heartening

Mr Horgan said: “It was heartening to hear from the Director of Services that there is no cap on the number of properties to bring under the repair and lease scheme and buy and renew as the council seeks to expand this further.

“The most sustainable and affordable home is one that’s already built, and the spend per property shows that affordable factor can be achieved by bringing properties back into use. It’s critical that we entice people to utilise these schemes to bring properties back and turned back into homes.

“It’s particularly welcome that at the moment this is not dependent on the incoming government being formed and is being driven by the Department and the Housing directorate in cork city council. People interested should avail to bring more homes into use.”