THERE are more empty local authority houses in Limerick this year than there were 12 months ago, despite the pinch of the ongoing housing crisis, a local senator has discovered.
A query by Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan to Limerick City and County Council shows the current number of vacant council houses in Limerick is 227, marginally higher than the 225 figure this time last year.
Senator Gavan said the figures show “the turn-around for council homes is far too slow and not enough is being done to tackle the issue”.
“The consistently high number is an outright scandal when there are over 400 people homeless in Limerick and thousands of families languishing on waiting lists for years.
“There will always be a number of vacant properties as tenancies end, but the time it takes to put them back into the system for allocation is clearly causing a backlog and resulting in this year-on-year high number”.
Senator Gavan said that he is aware that the local authority “relies heavily on government grants to tackle the housing crisis in Limerick, and clearly not enough is being spent by the Minister’s department to fund the turn-around of council homes as quickly as possible and bring them back to use”.
The Senator was told that 134 of the properties require minor refurbishments and the council expects 105 of them to be completed by the end of this year, with 29 for completion next year.
“Minor refurbishments should not take several months to be completed,” Senator Gavan hit out.
“Of the 227 vacant homes, 93 houses will require major refurbishments, with at least 49 of those not expected to be completed until at least next year. This is appalling.”
In reply, a spokesman for Limerick City and County Council said it is “required to refurbish vacant units in accordance with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019, which specifies standards to be met with regard to structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, and safety of gas, oil, and electrical supplies”.
The council spokesman confirmed that the “average cost of refurbishment of a vacant unit refurbished though the DoHLGH Voids Programme and LCCC’s own resources to date in 2024 is €41,738.30”.
“The amount of time to complete a refurbishment project varies widely and depends on many factors, including the level of refurbishment work required to bring it up to the minimal rental standards in line with building regulations, accounting for the size, scope, and complexity of the project.
“Other factors also affecting delivery include procurement, the availability of contractors, internal resources, and the processing of funding applications with the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage”.
The spokesman said that LCCC had 231 units vacant at the end of 2023, with a housing stock of 5,751 units.
At the start of this month, the council had 227 units vacant, with an increase in housing stock to 6,038 units.
In 2023, LCCC had 117 properties returned to their housing stock from tenants while 141 units had refurbishments completed and were made available for allocation.
In 2024 to date, Limerick City and County Council has had 64 properties returned to housing stock from tenants, while 62 units have been refurbished and made available for allocation.
