Croi Conaithe (Towns) - Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant

donegalman23

My builder wants me to get an architects drawing before he will give me a quote, has anyone else used an architect for this grant?

donegalman23

Also are electricians/roofers etc. happy to do the work and wait for the grant to come through before they get paid?

tomatofruit

I am in the same position. I sought clarification via my local TD and a question was submitted to the department and the response below was sent back.

"Properties considered for inclusion must be vacant for two years or more prior to the submission of a grant application and built before 1993. Proof of both vacancy and ownership are required to support the grant payment".

We moved into vacant house (3 years vacant) in early 2022. Did a small bit of work on it to make it along with a minor structural issue. Planned on carrying out the larger job this year. We also had to sell to be able to afford the vacant property. Its disappointing, feels a bit like being punished for being ahead of the curve on this. The work will still get done anyway but even a couple of grand would have went along way.

The response also notes that "a comprehensive review and evaluation of the schemes under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund will be undertaken by mid-2024" so will be holding on to receipts in the hope that the criteria may change on review.

Dr.Tom

I remember I came across this article. Hope the link works.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/politics/government-yet-pay-out-any-29172126

Seems like something rushed in as a tick box exercise to satisfy the Government. Not thought out properly.

I hope it gets sorted for all applicants as I may find myself in a similar position soon with an application.

jiminho

I’m going to be going for this myself. Just got an offer accepted on a vacant house. Spoke with the vacant officer and he said to submit the form with proof of vacancy and there’ll be someone out in 2 weeks to assess it. He said they’ll be able to verbally tell you there and then whether you’re eligible or will have any issues. House sale is kind dependent on me getting the grant so we’ll see how quickly the government can move :/

sue191

Hi, can anybody recommend a builder that would cover the Kerry area. Have gotten approval for the grant after sending back quotes. The individual quotes go a good bit over the 50k allocated. Feel if we had one builder to cover everything the grant money would go a lot further? Have 18 months to get the work complete.

peacock_lane

For anyone who has had approval for this (or knows a bit about the scheme) - do they make any checks against planning if the works are all internal? I ask because the cottage I bought is non-compliant with planning from the previous owner and I don’t want to draw local planning department on me….it’s the only thing putting me off applying. Although if I had the grant I could redirect my internal renovation savings to addressing the planning issue I suppose!

Miss123

Anyone else completely loosing all hope in their local council? We had our inspection 16th February and were told on the day that we would have a decision letter within 2 weeks. Of coarse that didn’t happen. I emailed them to follow up and they requested information I had already sent to them (tax clearance for contractors) they then confirmed they had all documentation they needed and I could expect a decision letter early the following week. It’s been 2 weeks since, still no letter!! I followed up again to be told my application is still being assessed!!!

sue191

It is a slow process, applied in November and went back and forth three times, got approval, contractors starting next month, dont give up.

jiminho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120418037#Comment_120418037

How long did it take you, start to finish? What did they come back on?

belowthisisalie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120418037#Comment_120418037

Can anyone say how much they were approved for? Talking to people on the Cork City Council it sounds like they aren't willing to part with much.

I made a thread on reddit where there is some more information and discussion, unfortunately I cannot post any links as I am new here. Hopefully this is OK:

www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/125212c/vacant_property_grant_what_we_know_so_far/

peacock_lane

My post won’t go through on the Reddit but the whole scheme sounds like a shambles based on my own experience to date and what’s being talked about there. Usual government disaster.

belowthisisalie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120443571#Comment_120443571

Lipservice at its finest I'd say.

sue191

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120437620#Comment_120437620

We applied at the end of November and had to go back and forth with paperwork, an engineers report was requested as it turned out the roof is structurally unsound which was noted by a council inspector which I got back. We got acceptance at the end of February for roof and interior as the quotations exceeded the allotted amount we got the full allowance, will have to supplement it myself. Roofer hopefully starting next month, we have 18 months for completion from the point of acceptance.

sue191

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120442438#Comment_120442438

It depends what needs to be done upon inspection as verified by the council and once you provide the corresponding quotes. I got quotes for essential works, ie the roof, plumbing,electricity. Will cover other things like a front door, painting and decorating, scaffolding.

jiminho

Cheers thanks for the info. How long after you submitted the application did you get an inspector out there? From my understanding, the inspector will give you a good idea if you’ll have any issues getting the grant.I’ve just gone past the three week mark and no peep. Going to give them a call on Tuesday good to hear you’re making progress though

belowthisisalie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120449551#Comment_120449551

Would you be comfortable saying how much you were approved for? I'm curious if they give a reasoning why you wouldn't get the full 30k if you can show quotes detailing above 30k.

shivvykxoxo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265876#Comment_120265876

@Miss123

Did you have to request consent from your mortgage provider regarding the legal charge that will be held on the property due to the grant? If you did, how did that go?

We are waiting for our application to be assessed but were told in the meantime to request this consent from our bank.

Also, were you waiting long after the inspection to hear if you were formally approved and for how much?

Thanks!

Miss123

@shivvykxoxo

sorry I’ve no advice on the mortgage side as we don’t have a mortgage on that house!

application submitted 19th January, on site inspection 16th February but still waiting for any confirmation of approval or refusal, despite been advised on timeframes on many occasions from the council I still haven’t received a decision.

It’s frustrating when I’ve provided them with all the documentation and information requested yet the decision has been held up with no explanation.

shivvykxoxo

@Miss123 That’s so frustrating! Are you still holding off getting any work done until you receive the final decision?

We sent our application in 5 weeks ago tomorrow and haven’t heard a thing. Have called several times and we keep being told it will probably be a few weeks.

We’re now paying both a mortgage and rent in Dublin, can’t afford to do it for much longer. Losing all hope in the grant at this point.

sue191

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120457818#Comment_120457818

Got confirmation for the full amount with the roof included. The roof was found to be structurally unsound after we spent 14k getting it retiled and will have to be redone.

shivvykxoxo

@sue191

Do you have a mortgage on your property? If so, did you need to request their consent in relation to the legal charge?

I called our mortgage provider and they won’t issue us with a consent letter.

shivvykxoxo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120072797#Comment_120072797

Hi @heddie77

Do you have an update on the legal charge part of your application? Did your mortgage provider give you the consent in the end?

We contacted our provider (ptsb) and they’ve told us they will not provide the consent required!

jiminho

Just got a similar note from AIB that they won’t provide the consent in the legal charge so therefore essentially prohibiting us from the grant!! What a farce this grant is turning out to be. Not only is it taking ages to get a turnaround on the approval, all the while not being allowed to touch the property, but now the banks won’t let you take advantage of it either. Only this government would promote such BS.

shivvykxoxo

It really is turning out to be an absolute shambles. How the government didn’t liaise with the banks to confirm their position on the legal charge part is beyond me. It seems only those without a mortgage will be eligible for this grant now, what a joke!

Dr.Tom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120496871#Comment_120496871

Well that's after throwing a spanner in my works as we are approved for a mortgage with AIB in the hopes of buying a vacant property subject to qualifying for a grant.

Miss123

we bought the house vacant and the period of 2 years vacancy falls under the previous owners period of ownership. Before signing contracts we got a solicitors letter signed by previous owner declaring vacancy.

3 months after applying the council have came back saying this is unsatisfactory requesting an esb statement

we cannot get an esb statement / bill proving this as we did not own house at this time

any advice?

shivvykxoxo

You had your inspection carried out back in February and they’re only coming back to you now to say the original paperwork you provided to prove vacancy is not satisfactory?! That’s shocking. Surely your documents were assessed prior to the inspection.

Which county council have you applied to?

When we were enquiring about the grant, Dublin City Council told us an official solicitor’s letter confirming vacant would suffice.

We actually did submit ESB bills also, and had asked the previous owners for them (through our estate agent). So that could be an option for you. Hopefully the previous owners of your property don’t have an issue providing them to you.

Miss123

I contacted the estate agent today and is totally unwilling to help, I don’t have contact details for previous owner only a name.

Inspection in February, we were told last week in February that they had all the paper work that they needed.

I emailed yesterday to see if there was any update on application and this is what I’m faced with now.

The letter we provided from solicitor included a signed declaration from the previous owner stating the property was vacant in excess of 2 years.

Im dealing with Longford County Council, I’m not sure where else to go for advise

between the empty promises of timelines and now this I feel like I need to go further with it to be taken seriously at all, but no idea where “further” is.

it’s so frustrating because we still can’t live in the house and without the grant we will be financially very limited on the works we can do.

so much for the government trying to convince people to buy vacant properties

shivvykxoxo

Do you have the previous owner’s solicitor’s details? Probably on your contract. You could reach out to them, explain the situation, provide your contact details and ask them to reach out to previous owner to contact you directly. It’s a long shot but worth trying.

To escalate further I would be speaking with your local councillor/TD. Not sure they will be much use but that will be my next step anyway.

Can you not move into the property because of its current condition or the grant approval being delayed? We were told we could move in once we submitted our application.