Refurbishing vacant homes – clarity on €5.51m in funding

Last month, I published details of funding provided made available by Fine Gael in Government to renovate and refurbish vacant properties in Dublin City.

At the monthly of Dublin City Council last night, I sought further details from the Housing Manager to where this funding will be spent across the city with a particular view on the North Inner City. The Housing Maintenance Section of the Council confirmed that €5.51m was allocated through the 2021 Voids Programme.

Dublin City Council submitted an application for 330 properties. In addition, funding has already been provided for 50 units which were approved in 2020 but not paid for until 2021. Refurbishment works on 182 properties are complete and 109 of these properties are already let.

The number of properties per administrative Area is as follows:

922 properties (including newly acquired properties) were refurbished in 2020, with the average time taken by Framework Contractors now down to 11 weeks. A new Term Maintenance Contract with a value of €48 million was also introduced in 2020. Over 3,500 Council properties have now benefitted from part funding through the Department’s Voids Refurbishment Programme.

If you would like more information in respect of this funding and the works associated to restore currently vacant houses to be used to provide a home for those who applied for support through Dublin City Council, please email me at RayMcAdam@gmail.com.