There is a grant that pays up to €70,000 toward doing up a house that has been sitting empty, and a surprising number of people who would qualify for it have never heard of it. Here is the plain version, without the politics.
What it is
The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant is funded by the Department of Housing through the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund, and you apply to your local authority. It pays toward refurbishing a vacant or derelict house that you will either live in yourself or rent out.
It also covers properties that were never homes before, provided they were in commercial or public use and now have the correct planning permission. There is a separate grant for converting the space above a shop.
How much
- Up to €50,000 for a vacant property
- Up to €70,000 if the property is derelict
- Up to €60,000 vacant or €84,000 derelict if you are on an off-shore island, with the individual work limits raised by 20% too
- An extra €5,000 for expert conservation advice if it is a traditional house
The amounts include VAT, and there are separate caps per type of work. Painting and decorating is capped at €10,500, kitchen units at €7,700, external doors and windows at €21,000, professional fees at 10% of net construction cost or €14,000, whichever is lower.
Whether you qualify
The main conditions:
- Vacant for at least 2 years immediately before you apply, and not left empty on purpose to qualify
- Built before 2008
- In the State, and you own it or are in the process of buying it
- You live in it as your principal private residence afterwards, or rent it out and register the tenancy with the RTB
- Tax clearance from Revenue, and Local Property Tax paid
- Not a registered company or developer
You can get it twice at most: once for a home to live in, once for one to rent.
The two things people get caught by
The grant must be approved before any work begins. Not before you finish, before you start. People have lifted a roof and then gone looking for the paperwork.
There is a clawback, and it runs for ten years. A charge is registered against the property for the grant amount. Sell up or stop living there inside five years and you repay the lot. Between five and ten years you repay 75%. After ten, nothing.
How to apply, roughly
Send the form to your local authority with proof the property is vacant, usually utility bills or a signed affidavit, proof you own it or are buying it, planning permission if needed, a professional report if you are claiming the derelict top-up and it is not already on the Derelict Sites Register, and a quote for the work.
They inspect, assess the cost and send a letter of approval telling you your figure. You then have 13 months to get the work done. They inspect again at the end, you sign the charge document, and the grant is paid.
If you are refused you have three weeks to appeal in writing, and someone who was not involved first time reviews it. That takes up to six weeks.
It stacks with SEAI
The grant does not cover energy-efficiency work that an SEAI grant already covers, but you can apply for both on the same property. That is worth knowing before you decide what goes in which quote.
Then comes the fun part
Getting through a refurbishment is the hard bit. Deciding what goes on the walls afterward is the good bit, and it is a lot cheaper. If you are working with a period house, our piece on the autumn 2026 colour shift covers the muted heritage tones that suit old rooms and low Irish light, and April and the Bear is worth a read for how an Irish home gets layered properly.
When you get to bare walls, we make prints for Irish homes, and the housewarming collection is there for anyone buying for someone else who has just got the keys.
Where to get the real detail
Contact the Vacant Homes Officer in your local authority, or the Housing Agency's vacancy helpline. The full official conditions are on Citizens Information.
This is a plain-English summary, not advice. Figures and conditions change. Last verified 27 August 2026 against Citizens Information, page edited 9 April 2026.