Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant: refurbishing a vacant or derelict house

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant helps you turn an empty or derelict house into a home to live in or to rent out. It is run by your county or city council, with national rules from the Department of Housing, under the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund. It is for an existing building you refurbish. It is not for a new house on a site, which is what the Ready to Build scheme covers.

The council scheme outline is the legal reference. Councils run the process in their own way (one takes applications on an online portal, another by email), so read your own council’s page and ask its vacant homes office before you spend anything. The figures below are the national maximums.

Who and what qualifies

Your house must meet all of these:

• Vacant for at least two years before you apply. Kerry County Council counts two full years immediately before the date you apply, not the date you are approved. A holiday home, or a property let for short stays, is not vacant for this purpose. You provide evidence, for example utility bills showing continuous low or zero electricity use, or a disconnection over the two years. The council checks it before approval.
• Built before 2008. You need evidence of the build date.
• Not left empty on purpose to qualify. The scheme says you cannot leave a property unreasonably and purposely vacant to qualify.
• For a home, not for another use. You intend it as your principal private residence, or to rent out. Agricultural buildings and other non-residential properties are not eligible. Some former commercial or public buildings can qualify as a conversion, if the right planning permission is in place.
• A refurbishment, not a new build. The scheme outline says that where permission is granted to demolish and rebuild so that the property is classed as a new build, it is ineligible. Demolition and extension can form part of the application only as part of a wider refurbishment. If you are weighing renovation against a rebuild, read renovate, extend or knock down and rebuild first.

The applicant also needs to be in order with the State. You must be able to show Local Property Tax is paid where it applies, and a current tax clearance certificate. Kerry notes that your tax clearance has to be valid when the grant is paid, not just when you apply. Contractors are covered too, above a value threshold: see the payment section below.

Who can apply. The grant is for named individuals (including sole traders) who own the house or are actively buying it. It is not available to registered companies or developers. If the house has more than one owner, every owner is named as an applicant on the form.

If you have not bought it yet. The council can give approval in principle if you show active negotiations to buy, for example confirmation from the estate agent or the owner. That is not full approval: ownership must transfer to you before it is confirmed in full, and no grant is paid until the council is satisfied you own the house.

How many grants. For a single dwelling you can hold at most two grants: one for a house that will be your principal private residence, and one for a house you will rent out. The conversion of an entire former commercial or public building into two or more homes is a separate route with no maximum number of grants per applicant, but only one grant is payable per building. A rental needs a tenancy registered with the RTB. Units created for rent must not be used for short-term letting.

What it pays

Property	Maximum grant
Vacant house	Up to €50,000
Confirmed derelict house (vacant grant plus top-up of up to €20,000)	Up to €70,000

The grant includes VAT, and the amount depends on the type and cost of works as assessed by the council. The scheme sets a table of works categories, each with its own maximum, so that a typical two-storey, three-bedroom semi is not paid more than a reasonable cost for each element. A grant is the council’s share of approved works, not a refund of whatever you spend.

A property counts as derelict if it is structurally unsound or unsafe, or is on the council’s Derelict Sites Register. If it is not on the register, you must submit an independent report from a qualified professional confirming it is derelict. Kerry describes the test as structurally unsound and dangerous.

Higher amounts exist for other cases, and most self-builders should know they are not for them:

• Converting a former commercial or public building into two or more homes has a top-up on the standard grant (in Kerry, a maximum of €70,000 to €110,000 depending on units and whether it is derelict), on a different application form.
• Vacant above the shop space has its own grant, from 31 March 2026, of up to €95,000 for one home, €115,000 for two and €135,000 for three or more. The shop below must stay in commercial use. It suits someone making homes in a shop building, not a person refurbishing a detached house.
• The Expert Advice Grant pays up to €5,000, and no more than 67% of the cost including VAT, towards a professional’s report. It is only for above-the-shop and multi-unit commercial conversions, not a standard house refurbishment.
• Qualifying islands have higher limits, because costs are higher there.

Apply before you start

The order matters, because the council inspects the house and approves the works before you start.

1. Ask first. A short email to your council’s vacant homes office can confirm whether the house qualifies and which form you need. Using the wrong form delays the application.
2. Gather your proof. You need proof of vacancy, proof of ownership (for example the folio or title), proof the building was built before 2008, tax evidence, a quotation for the works, and your planning permission or a declaration of exemption. For a derelict top-up, add the derelict report or Derelict Sites Register confirmation.
3. Check planning. Some refurbishment work is exempt from planning permission, and the scheme asks for either permission or a declaration of exemption under section 5 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. An exemption does not remove the need to comply with the building regulations. If you need permission, the council can give approval in principle while the planning decision is pending, but it cannot confirm full approval until a final planning decision has issued, and you must show the permission before final approval. Approval in principle is not approval to start the grant-funded works. Our guide to commencement notices covers what must be filed before building work starts.
4. Wait for full written approval. The council inspects, then approves the works in a letter. The approval letter sets the grant, not your quotation. A letter of approval in principle (pending planning or a purchase) does not count: wait until the council confirms approval in full.
5. Complete within 18 months. After approval you must complete the approved works within 18 months.

Only the works approved in advance count. A change in scope halfway through, such as an extension you add later, should be put to the council before you build it.

When the money arrives

The grant is paid on completion. The council reviews your invoices and receipts, does a final inspection and then pays. It can pay a lower amount than approved if the invoices or the finished work support less. If the house is for rent, payment waits until a tenancy is registered with the RTB, and you send proof.

The scheme outline requires a tax clearance certificate for each contractor who carried out construction operations on the house where the value of the works exceeds €650. You obtain the certificate from the contractor immediately before you pay them for those operations. Failing to produce a required clearance at drawdown may mean the council refuses payment. The outline does not say whether €650 is measured per invoice or across a contractor’s total work, so do not assume either: ask your council, and when in doubt collect a certificate. Keep every invoice and receipt, and check each clearance before you pay.

The practical result is a cash gap. You need the full cost of the works, plus any VAT you are charged, in hand or borrowed before the grant arrives, and the grant then comes back as a lump sum. A lump sum at the end does not pay a builder at the start. Three ways to plan for it:

• Work out your peak cash need. It is the cost of the works that falls due before completion, less the money you have, not the grant amount. The method in funding a gap in your self-build budget works the same way for a refurbishment.
• Ask your lender early. The scheme says applicants must say whether they have applied for the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan. Other lenders have their own rules, so ask what they will release against an approval letter, not against a promise. Building a house without a mortgage covers funding from savings and sales.
• Do not rely on the full amount. Because the council may pay less, budget for the lower figure and treat anything more as a surplus.

Ten years of conditions

The grant carries a clawback for ten years from the date it is paid. You must live in the house as your principal private residence, or keep it available to rent on a registered tenancy, for that decade. If you sell it, stop living in it, or stop complying with the conditions in that period, you must repay all or part of the grant. The scheme outline sets out how much is repayable by how long it has been since payment. The council may ask each year for proof that you still live there, or for evidence of your annual RTB registration. You may be able to switch between living in it and renting it without triggering the clawback in some circumstances, but you must tell the council first.

This matters if there is any chance you will sell, for example if the house is a stepping stone or if you might inherit and move. It also matters to a lender, who will want to know about the repayment obligation.

Stacking with other grants and reliefs

• SEAI grants. The scheme outline says SEAI grants may be available in combination with this grant, but works funded by an SEAI grant are not also provided for under it, and the council must be satisfied the same works are not claimed twice. Declare any other grants on your application. Our SEAI grants guide explains what SEAI pays and what it excludes.
• Help to Buy. Help to Buy is for new homes and self-builds where the property is newly built and VAT applies to its construction. A refurbished older house is not a newly built home, so do not plan on it. Check Revenue’s qualifying property rules before relying on it for a conversion.
• Living City Initiative. The scheme outline mentions that owners may also be able to use the Living City Initiative tax relief for qualifying work in the historic centres of certain cities. Ask your tax adviser, since it is a tax relief with its own conditions.
• Development contributions. The temporary waiver did not cover the refurbishment of existing vacant or derelict properties, so budget for any council charges your permission carries. See the contribution waiver guide.
• VAT. The grant includes VAT, so it does not add VAT on top of the works. Our VAT guide explains the rates that apply to building work.

Insurance while the house is empty and being worked on

This is the part most grant pages leave out. Two separate risks meet in a long-vacant house under refurbishment.

First, the house itself. Many standard home policies restrict or refuse cover for a property that has been unoccupied for a long period, and a house vacant for two years is exactly that. If you already hold a policy, ask your insurer in writing whether it is still valid, and what changes once building work starts. Do not assume the previous owner’s cover transfers to you.

Second, the works. A builder working on your house needs the work covered, and the people on site need protecting. Contract works cover (damage to the work and materials) and public liability (injury or damage to other people’s property) are usually taken out by whoever runs the site, so your arrangement with the builder decides who must buy what. If you employ or pay tradespeople directly, the position changes. Our guides to self-build insurance and insurance when you project manage set out the types of cover and who normally arranges each.

The grant makes cover more urgent in one way. You are paying for the works before the council repays you, so damage or a theft during the build is a loss you carry first. Put the cover in place before the first day of work, tell the insurer the house was vacant and what you are doing, and keep the policy documents with your grant paperwork.

The cover wizard asks about an extension or renovation and about who runs the work, then lists the types of cover that usually apply. It takes six questions and you can ask for a callback at the end, or just read the list.

A sensible order

1. Email the council’s vacant homes office and ask whether the house qualifies, and whether you are an eligible applicant.
2. Collect the proof of vacancy, ownership and build date.
3. Get a quotation, and check planning or an exemption.
4. Submit the application and wait for full written approval, not just approval in principle.
5. Arrange insurance and funding for the full cost of the works.
6. Build to the approved scope, and keep every invoice, receipt and tax clearance.
7. Complete within 18 months, then claim.