Call for council to adopt tougher stance on owners of vacant commercial properties

A Cork city councillor has called for a more stringent approach to how the council allows property owners to pay reduced rates on vacant properties.

Green Party councillor Oliver Moran proposed at a council meeting this week that a policy would be put in place requiring ongoing evidence from persons claiming abatement of rates for reason of being unable to obtain a suitable tenant.

John Hallahan, the council’s chief financial officer, told him that the vacancy abatement scheme “is inherently focused to encourage the return of vacant ratable properties to active use and thus it is in the interests of the occupier to establish a viable business for a property and avoid having to pay monies for having a vacant non-income generating property.” 

He added: “It would not be appropriate for the city council to involve itself in the determination of what would constitute a viable business plan for vacant ratable properties and to do so would require a level of resources and expertise currently not available to the council.” 

It comes as a report published by council at the end of last year explained that, to qualify for vacancy abatement, the premises must be vacant for alterations or repairs, or if the owner is “bona fide unable to obtain a suitable tenant at a reasonable rent”.

Twenty-four submissions were received in response to a public consultation, all suggesting that the vacancy relief should be removed. However, the executive recommended that the vacancy abatement rate remained unchanged at 50% for 2025.

Mr Moran told The Echo: “A public consultation in September showed a huge demand to drop this benefit for owners of vacant properties. As a result of that, the reduction that Cork City Council offers was reduced from 50%-off to 40%-off a rates bill while a property is empty.

“That's a start, but there's still a contradiction between what different parts of Cork City Council are doing when it comes to vacant buildings. 

“One set of officials are trying to apply a levy on vacant properties. Another set are giving tax breaks if your building is empty.” 

He called for “a more stringent approach”, saying: “If a building is genuinely undergoing refurbishment then I've no problem with that. 

“If someone is deliberately keeping a building empty and claiming they cannot find a tenant, I think I'd want to see more evidence.

“There isn't a meeting of minds yet between myself and officials, but with the housing crisis and buildings that could be used for housing being left empty, it's not a question that's going to go away."