Average cost of refurbishing Cork City Council owned homes almost €22k

The number of vacant council homes in Cork city has increased by 17 over the last 13 months to 359, new data has shown.

Cork City Council's acting director of housing, Martina Broderick, said that as of the end of May there were 359 vacant local authority managed properties out of a stock of more than 11,000.

She said the average duration that properties remain vacant is 32 weeks, and the average cost of refurbishment is €21,862.

“The main reasons for vacancy include surrender of tenancy, death of tenant, and transfer of tenant,” she said.

The information was provided to Independent Ireland’s Noel O’Flynn, who asked if government funding could be provided to expedite the repairs.

Assistant chief executive Brian Geaney said: “Every housing authority is going to have vacancies from time to time, but there is a very active repair process in place, and turnaround time has vastly improved in the last number of years.”

He added that the Government provides up to €11,000 per unit to bring properties back into use, with the outstanding balance provided from the council’s own resources.

The disparity between the funding provided to councils to bring properties into a usable state and the average cost of refurbishing vacant homes means often those homes requiring most work are left to remain vacant for longer.

The number of vacant properties marks an increase from April 2025, when The Echo reported that 342 council properties were vacant, including 97 which had been vacant between 12 months and 24 months, while 99 were vacant for longer than two years. 

Cork City Council prioritises the return of properties with the least work required, with the aim of returning the maximum number of houses each year.

This can lead to properties requiring extensive repairs, such as fire-damaged houses, requiring longer return times, a spokesperson explained at the time.