‘That is time that a family could have had a home’ – Dublin councils taking up to seven months to re-let vacant houses
Dublin’s local authorities take an average of six months to reoccupy vacant council homes.
According to the most recent data from the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) and the local authorities, from 2024, the turnaround period was over seven months for Fingal.
In the same period, it took more than six months on average to re-let homes in Dublin City, more than five months for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and more than four for South Dublin.
Earlier this month, responding to a question from Aontú councillor Ellen Troy, Fingal County Council (FCC) said its turnaround from when a home is vacated to when it is re-tenanted is more than 33 weeks.
“The most recently published vacancy rate for FCC for 2024 is 3.72pc of the total housing stock,” Paul Carroll, director of housing for the council, said.
“This turnaround time includes surrendering time by the old tenant; clearing of property; design, tendering and undertaking of re-let works, which could be substantial and involve a number of different contractors.
“It also includes time for the tenant to organise utility reconnections; anti-social behaviour checks like garda vetting, viewings and refusals by tenants; and the various stages of due diligence in the council’s allocations process.”
Niamh Fennell, a Sinn Féin councillor for South Dublin, said the high turnaround time adds to the already long waiting lists for council housing.
“In South Dublin County Council (SDCC), the average waiting time for a home is 10 to 12 years,” she said.
“If we could shorten the turnaround time, it would help reduce the waiting list. The more we can do, the better. Some of these houses are in good condition, so there is some concern around why it’s taking so long.
“The simple fact is that we have thousands and thousands of families and people waiting. Even if it is up to seven months, those seven months is time that a family could have had a home.”
The average turnaround for SDCC was 26 weeks in 2023, 20 weeks in 2024 and 22 weeks last year.
“When we raise it as an issue, the council comes back and says it’s a resourcing or budget issue or that a house needs to be brought up to a certain standard before it’s re-let,” Ms Fennell said.
“It’s a problem we hear quite frequently and we’re advocating for that process to be shortened on behalf of the families in our areas.
“Even after a re-let becomes available, it can take longer to get garda clearance. I have one case where a family was waiting for over a year for their clearance to come up.”
The NOAC reported that the average vacancy rate across the country had decreased from 2.81pc in 2023 to 2.75pc in 2024.
The family are given time to remove belongings of a loved one who may have passed away recently
“The average cost for re-letting was €31,136.29 and the average time for re-letting was 35.36 weeks – the highest recorded since 2014,” the report said.
“The longest average re-letting time across the six urban authorities was Galway City (48.83 weeks), followed by Fingal. The lowest vacancy rates were recorded in Laois (0.80pc), Wexford (0.94pc) and Westmeath (1.23pc), while seven other local authorities reported vacancy rates of less than 2pc.”
A spokesperson from Dublin City Council (DCC) said the re-letting process took an average of 29 weeks in 2024 and 23 weeks last year. The process happens in three stages.
“The family are given time to remove belongings of a loved one who may have passed away recently – this is called a surrender of tenancy,” the spokesperson said.
“The refurbishment stage is next and is generally the longest timeframe over the three stages, especially if new materials are ordered in, such as windows or doors.
“The re-letting stage is the final part, which is where potential tenants get to view the property and sign paperwork.”
In South Dublin, the council is working to reduce the turnaround time to 16 to 20 weeks, according to an SDCC spokesperson.
“Our housing maintenance and refurbishment section undertake re-let works on vacant housing stock to ensure homes are brought back into productive use for letting as soon as possible,” they said.
“We manage over 10,500 homes and there are currently 73 properties at various stages of the re-let process with a vacancy rate of less than 0.7pc. Of the 73 properties, 47 have been offered to eligible households on the social housing waiting list. Of these, 39 offers have been formally accepted.”
Some councillors have been calling for closer monitoring of vacant homes.
“Sometimes, if a council home cannot be re-let for a significant period of time, they become dumping grounds,” Ms Fennell said.
“So I’ve called for the council to monitor these places that are vacant for a long time.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme