Twenty four social homes 'reactivated from vacancy'

Twenty four social homes were “reactivated from vacancy” in Westmeath in 2024, according to figures released today by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, TD.

They show that nationally that 2,357 vacant social homes were brought back into active use in 2024 under the Voids Programme.

Making more efficient use of existing housing stock is another approach being utilised to bring more homes back into active use, the statement from the Dept of Housing continues.

The Voids Programme supports local authorities in preparing vacant homes for re-letting and builds on work to tackle vacancy and dereliction to ensure vacant properties are re-used for housing.

In Westmeath, the fact that the overall voids figure of 24 for 2024 is slightly lower than 49 for 2023 is a positive sign – reflecting Westmeath County Council’s shift towards a planned maintenance model, which leads to quicker repairs, continuous use, and faster re-letting of social homes.

This trend is expected to continue in 2025 and will mean ongoing upkeep and more consistent occupancy.

Overall, in the last 10 years, 437 social homes in Westmeath have been brought back in use under the Voids Programme.

Minister Browne said: “I am currently pulling every lever to reactivate vacant properties. Under my direction, the department is acting quickly to bring vacant social housing back into use across towns and villages, which is critical to help ease pressure on the existing housing stock, boost supply, and ultimately to provide much-needed homes.

“Beyond addressing the demand for social housing, renovating these unoccupied homes also benefits communities by preventing decline and abandonment, and I feel strongly about getting this done as quickly as is possible for people. No one wants to see properties that should be homes lying idle.

“I welcome the fact that nationally, the number of vacant social homes requiring pre-letting work was lower last year than in 2023. That is because we are actively shifting to what’s known as a ‘planned maintenance’ approach for our social housing stock in order to minimise the time it takes to re-let properties.

“I commend Westmeath County Council for their partnership in returning these homes to active use over 10 years from 2014 to 2024. Their efforts will have a meaningful impact on 437 households.”

Since 2020, the government has spent almost €190 million to return 13,177 homes to active use. That is more than half (51%) of the homes returned over the lifetime of the programme since 2014 (25,672 units).