Jan O'Sullivan
Question:651. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when the vacant homes strategy will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3181/18]
View answerTuesday, 23 January 2018
Questions (651)
Written answers
Preparatory work on the vacant home strategy was undertaken by a working group chaired by the Housing Agency which also comprised senior representatives from my Department, local authorities, the Irish Council for Social Housing and from the Housing Agency itself. My Department received the output of the working group in June 2017 and is presently further developing the strategy with a view to publishing it in the near future.
In advance of formal publication, it should be noted that a significant number of measures to incentivise the increased use of vacant housing stock have already been introduced which are being progressed by my Department and local authorities. These measures include:
- requiring all local authorities to develop Vacant Homes Action Plans for their functional areas by end January 2018;
- requiring local authorities to designate Vacant Homes Officers to co-ordinate local actions to address vacancy (the majority of local authorities now have a designated Vacant Homes Officer in place);
- the ongoing implementation of the Repair and Leasing Scheme, the Buy and Renew Scheme, and the Housing Agency Acquisitions Fund for the purchase of vacant buy-to-let properties from financial institutions;
- the review of planning legislation to allow the change of use of vacant commercial units in urban areas, including vacant or under-utilised areas over ground-floor premises, into residential units without having to go through the planning process. Draft regulations to give effect to this measure were laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 13 December 2017 and it is intended that the new regulations, which - as set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended - require the approval of both Houses, will be made as soon as possible; and work on further streamlining, and providing guidance on, the building control regulatory requirements in relation to the conversion of vacant premises (including vacant over the shops spaces) into residential use.
As part of their vacant homes action plans, local authorities are also undertaking local surveys to ascertain up-to-date vacancy levels within their functional areas. Actions plans received to date from local authorities indicate that the level of vacant homes is significantly less than that set out in Census 2016, which was in essence, a snapshot at a particular point in time, i.e. end April 2016. In this regard, it is considered that a significant number of those vacant units contained in the Census 2016 data have, given the passage of time since its collation, been re-introduced as viable housing stock, including homes that were subject to short-term vacancies that normally occur in a properly functioning housing market, e.g. the house may have been placed on the market for sale or to let, it may have been temporarily vacant while undergoing refurbishment works, or it may have been subject to legal or probate procedures.
The Department is currently liaising with relevant stakeholders to agree a robust methodology to assess vacancy for inclusion in the national vacant homes strategy. The local vacant homes actions plans - which, as mentioned, are due to be submitted by the end of January 2018 - will inform the finalisation of the strategy in terms of setting further actions and targets, and it is proposed to publish the strategy as soon as possible thereafter.