Council spends €100k to fix vacant house

SLIGO county council spent almost €100,000 refurbishing one derelict social housing unit last year, according to a report yesterday (Monday) in the Irish Times.

Ten long-term derelict void units were brought back into use by Sligo County Council at a cost of more than a half a million euro in 2017, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act to the paper.

The council said the maximum spend on one unit was just under 100,000 euro for a house in the Tubercurry area that required “major refurbishment”.

It said it now “inspects such properties as soon as practicable after vacancy”.

Voids occur when tenants vacate houses or flats, either transferring to somewhere more suitable or leaving to purchase their own property. The death of a tenant or a marital breakdown can also result in a void unit.

The council said work included new footpaths, walls, doors, a new heating system, rewiring, the replacement of some ceilings, tiling, painting and decorating.