Carbery Housing Association (CHA) is a member controlled housing association with charitable status, registered as an Approved Housing Body (AHB) with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DEHLG). CHA was set up in 2001 by local residents in West Cork, who wanted to help people who could not afford to buy or rent good quality housing on the open market, in particular young local people who had to move away from home to secure affordable homes.
Since its creation, CHA has made several attempts to redress this by developing community-friendly housing for rent in West Cork, while at the same time designing these homes to be energy efficient and to incorporate community amenities. CHA made two Planning applications for sustainable social housing projects in Bantry, one of them on a Cork County Council site that it still undeveloped today. We also made several approaches to Town Councils for support. None of our proposals were supported by Cork County Council or the Town Councils.
During this time, CHA has to date received housing applications from 133 households, most of who were also on Council housing lists. An analysis of applicants carried out by a post graduate researcher at University College Cork revealed that around half of them were single people or single parents that they mostly lived in temporary rented accommodation which they often could not afford, in conditions that were often overcrowded or unfit. Also, some of them had medical conditions or disabilities which required they have adequate housing.
The evidence of the need for better housing supports for people who cannot afford the market is overwhelming. Cork County Council in its 2007 Housing Strategy Review has estimated that around 50% of new households could not afford to buy on the open market. But social housing, that is subsidised housing offered a lower rents and provided by Councils and Housing Associations, only represents around 5% of the overall housing stock.
The only other alternative for people who could not afford to house themselves was Rent Supplement, which subsidised households on lower incomes to pay market rents However, housing provided in this way is often temporary, sometimes unfit, and the arrangement has the danger “poverty trap”, where they cannot afford to be employed because they would loose their Rent Supplement.
During this period also, Council Housing Lists nationally and locally have increased dramatically, from 60,000 households nationally, and around 9,000 in the Cork region in 2006, to 80,000 households nationally and around 12,000 for respectively in 2010.
Ironically, as housing need grew, a private housing development boom was also taking place. Around 70,000 new homes were built every year from 2002 to 2007, has generated an apparent “oversupply” of houses. By 2006 researchers estimated that supply (of homes for sale) already exceeded demand by around 200,000 homes. But the building boom continued, fuelled by more by gain to be made for zoned land, high property prices and easily available loan finance.
In 2008 the slump had begun and by 2009 the housing market collapsed. In its aftermath came the awareness of the results of this boom and bust. Hundreds of thousands of empty houses.
A UCD study, meticulously researched but source of some controversy, reported in early 2010 that there were 345,000 empty homes in Ireland, and event after subtracting homes that were “justifiably” empty (such as holiday homes, natural voids and houses in need of repair) there were still around 170,000 homes that were empty and available for sale. The Construction Federation has claimed that this research was wrong; that there were far fewer houses empty, but this figure has been validated by other researchers.
The irony of this was that at the same time as it was argued that these houses were not needed, houses were needed, at least 100,000 or so, to meet exiting and future housing need.
In West Cork there are probably hundreds of empty homes that could be of great help in housing hundreds of people in housing need. We don’t know the precise figure, but a drive around the region will show that empty houses are everywhere, some ready to be occupied, some unfinished, some in “ghost estates”, other older houses, on the market and not selling. Prices are going down but there is little buying taking place, and new mortgage approvals have dropped to an all time low. There are concerns for the condition of these properties if they remain empty for years, the inconvenience to neighbours, the future impact of high levels of mortgage default and additional repossessions. There have even been calls to demolish some of these homes. One thing is certain, it makes no sense from properties to be standing empty at the same time as thousands of single people and families could use them.
In what we consider a positive move, the DEHLG has recently announced a funding scheme to encourage use of empty properties, the Social Housing Leasing Scheme Initiative (Circular SHIP N5/09 of September 2009). In view of this, CHA has taken the decision to concentrate on trying to find ways of bringing empty properties into use under leasing agreements.
CHA are therefore trying at the moment to identify suitable empty properties for the Scheme. The process indicated by the DEHLG for applying for use of a particular property to be taken on for housing under this scheme is as follows:
• The property is identified
• The property is inspected by a qualified surveyor to ensure that:
- It meets the fitness standards of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations if 2008
- It is structurally sound and a structural guarantee or insurance is available of can be obtained
- It is complaint with planning and technical requirements including Part V (if applicable)

• CHA makes contact with the Local Housing Authority (Cork County Council or a Town Council) to confirm that there is a housing need in the area that would merit the introduction of the unit in question into the Scheme. The Local Authority may also want to verify the condition of the property
• CHA makes formal application to the DEHLG to have the property included in the Scheme. The application must include a professional valuation of the market rental of the property. Under the SHIP scheme, the DEHLG will then guarantee payment of the Housing Association of up to 80% of the market rental if the state of fitness is satisfactory.
• If the survey of the property has shown that it needs works carried out to meet the required standards, CHA will either ask the owner to carry out the works, or borrow funds to allow the work to be carried out by CHA. We have had preliminary discussions with Clan Credo, the ethical finance fund, who have agreed in principle to lend the necessary funds.
Subject to the above, the DEHLG will approve payment of the specified rent level to CHA for the period of the lease. This lease rent is intended for the owner of the property, and will also be used to meet repayment of any funds borrowed to carry out required works on the property. The rest would go to the owner of the property. The minimum length of lease is 10 years; the maximum is 30 years
CHA then agrees with the Local Authority how the property is allocated. It must be allocated to single people or families who are on the Council Housing List, or have been in receipt of rent allowance for more than 18 months. The lease rent will be reviewed yearly in line with market rents, and paid quarterly.
Residents will pay a rent at Council level rent (that is means tested) to meet the cost of management and maintenance of the property. Properties will be allocated, managed and maintained to professional standards for the duration of the lease, and returned to the owner in the same or better condition at the end of the lease. CHA is committed to improving energy efficiency on any properties leased by applying to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for support under the Home Energy Scheme.
Because we believe this to be a major issue that is not receiving sufficient attention, CHA has set up a Campaign to Use Buildings that are Empty (CUBE) on Facebook. We aim to work for national action around this issue. We believe that the first step if for Government to draw up a National Empty Buildings Strategy, aimed at bringing in as many properties as possible in every region through a series of local actions. Part of this strategy must involve support and development of housing associations and co-ops like CHA that can work with the community to bring these properties into use, not only for housing, but also as premises for local arts and craft projects, community and environmental initiatives. For more details on CUBE see www.facebook.com/cubecampaign.
Today presents a challenge to all of us to find ways of using these properties. If we do, it can be a win-win situation for all concerned, where households who cannot afford to buy or rent on the market are accommodated, here empty properties are protected from dereliction and used, where jobs and raining opportunities re created on the basis of this programme. Most importantly, homes that that represent a national investment (especially after the bank bailouts) can be positively utilized for the common good.