Vacant homes in Louth identified for social housing
A new website aimed at highlighting vacant houses which could be used for social housing has led to more than 30 properties in Louth being identified.
The site www.vacanthomes. ie invites submission from the public in relation to houses in their area which are unoccupied.
The local authority, in this area Louth County Council, can then make efforts to es- tablish ownership and look at ways it could be used to provide much needed housing.
Louth TD Declan Breathnach welcomed the development, saying that a new bill introduced in the Dáil will help refurbish thousands of vacant units in older and commercial buildings in cities and town centres.
The ‘Vacant Housing Refurbishment Bill 2017’ establishes a special planning and building control approval process in each planning authority. This will enable the expedited refurbishment of upper floors of older and commercial structures for housing.
Deputy Breathnach said, ‘It’s clear a new approach is needed to expand the supply of social, affordable and private housing as the targets simply will not be met at the current pace of progress. Refurbishment of vacant spaces in residential, as well as commercial properties and in older buildings, can provide the key to this.’
He explained that building control and planning processes make spaces in older or commercial buildings virtually impossible to convert for residential use. ‘ These have to be streamlined if we are to make a dent on reducing building vacancies and dereliction.
The new bill, he added is intended to be the ‘One-StopShop’ approval system which will reduce administrative delay, align existing administrative systems for planning and building control and ensure greater compliance.’