‘Carrot and stick’ waiver could bring vacant Louth buildings back into use

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

Rent reductions for vacant commercial units should be time-limited in a bid to encourage owners to “do something with their property”, according to a Louth councillor.

Cllr. Marianne Butler said the latest report on commercial vacancies was “worrying” with Louth recording a higher than national average rate of 14.9%.

She adds that “a lot of impact could be made with the €7million Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) awarded to Louth County Council” to purchase vacant and derelict properties in the town centres of Dundalk and Drogheda.

“This fund needs to be used to its fullest to essentially unlock properties, they don’t necessarily have to be derelict, it really could be utilised to bring properties that are vacant back into use.”

She added that some owners “could be sitting on a building, waiting for the value to go up, but that has a real impact on footfall.”

Cllr. Butler has called for change to the abatement of rates, so that after a number of years owners of vacant properties revert to paying 100% of their commercial rates.

She filed a submission to the council’s public consultation on the rate abatement process, citing: “too many examples of business premises in our county being left vacant for well over a decade.”

She added: “By reverting to charging 100% of the commercial rates on these properties, I think the owners will be more inclined to bring the properties back into use in some form. Whereas continuing to offer a 50% reduction to owners of commercial properties will be a recipe for further vacancy and ultimately dereliction in some cases.”

The Dundalk councillor argues this proposal should be considered as part of budget decisions for 2026.

"We want to discourage property owners from holding on to what they see as an asset, whilst doing very little to it.”

“They should do something with the property, consider turning it into a much needed residential unit.”

She added that councillors will look also at a “waiver scheme” which would act as a “carrot and a stick.”

"It is a business incentive scheme, so if a premises is vacant for two years and the landlord agrees to a reduction in rent, the council will match that with a reduction in rates for a number of years.”

The local authority, she adds, also offer a number of incentives for property owners, including the ‘repair and lease scheme’ and ‘vacant property grant scheme’, which would assist in bringing a derelict building back to life.

"We do need to look at reimagining our town centres, as the retail sector and indeed the hospitality sector has changed so much over the last few years.”

“But with the dire need for more residential units, I think there are real opportunities there for owners to transform properties and bring the vacancy rate down.”