Owners of vacant traditional farmhouses across the country are to share grants totalling €285,000 to cover the cost of having a conservation expert provide tailored advice on how to repair and improve the building.
The grants will be paid out under a pilot scheme run by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), to cover the costs of expert conservation advice to owners of vacant farmhouses who are considering applying for the government’s Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant.
According to the DHLGH a total of 70 applications were received for the Vacant Traditional Farmhouses scheme, five of these applications were withdrawn and a total of 38 applications have been approved.
A grant of up to €7,500 was available under the 2023 pilot scheme, which is now closed.
This means that a total €285,000 in grants will collectively be paid out.
Vacant properties
Owners of vacant or derelict properties can apply for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant worth €50,000, which was launched by the government last July in a bid to encourage owners to turn a vacant house or building into “a permanent home or a rental property”.
There is also a Derelict Property Top Up Grant – of up to €20,000 – available for structurally unsound and dangerous properties.
Earlier this week the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, described the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant as a “particular success”.
Latest figures show local authorities received over 5,100 applications for the grant.
Minister O’Brien said that more than 2,400 projects have now been approved and are “in progress with payment to be made by the local authorities, when the works are completed and verified”.
Earlier this week the minister said that the cabinet has agreed to double the amount of homes which can be supported under the scheme and has raised “the target to 4,000 homes to be delivered by 2025”.
The DHLGH has also confirmed that the Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) – a government backed mortgage for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants – will also be extended in order to cover the purchase and renovation of currently non-habitable homes.