Council confirms €6.5m in sales of compulsorily acquired property in Limerick

LIMERICK City and County Council has confirmed €6.5m in sales of compulsorily acquired property this Thursday.

The news comes as the local authority has published notification of its intention to compulsorily acquire a further 23 derelict properties from across the city and county using its powers under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990.

This latest tranche of notices brings to 250 the number of compulsory acquisition notices it has served since it set up a unit to tackle derelict and vacant property in 2018. 

The council has reported strong demand for these properties that are spread right across the city and county and has confirmed over €2m in sales to date with a further €4.5m in property sales at sale agreed stage.

A council spokesperson said they are one of the most pro-active in the country in terms of using its powers under the Derelict Sites Act to bring derelict and vacant houses back into use.

The 250 properties milestone marks a further intensification of enforcement activity by the council in recent weeks with the serving of notices on properties in the city centre, Abbeyfeale, Bruff, Castleconnell (pictured below), Galbally, Newcastle West, Oola, and Tournafulla.

Among the derelict properties being proposed for compulsory acquisition are a six storey former mill building on Robert Street, Limerick city; semi-detached cottage dwelling in Oola; mid-terrace residential property in Bruff; detached two-storey residence and ancillary outbuildings at Ballysheedy; an end-of-terrace two storey residence at Kileely, Limerick.

Director of Service with Limerick City and County Council, Gordon Daly said at a time of housing shortage, the activation of derelict and vacant property is a high priority for the council. 

"There are now a range of government funded grant schemes and supports available to existing and new owners to help refurbish these properties. The council will continue to use its powers to compulsorily acquire property if owners do not take steps to address dereliction and bring their property back into use," said Mr Daly.

The 23 proposed acquisitions are part of a coordinated approach by the council to deal with dereliction and vacancy across the city, towns and villages in County Limerick that has seen the council complete the compulsory acquisition of over 150 derelict and vacant properties in the past four years. The council is also awaiting the determination of An Bord Pleanála on a further 28 cases.

The majority of the compulsorily acquired properties are residential in nature and are put up for sale on the open market by the council for new owners to bring back into productive use. Income generated from property sales goes to support the payment of compensation to the former owners.

Poachers plunder speed sign batteries from Limerick roads

The compulsory acquisition of derelict and vacant properties by local authorities is one of the actions identified in Government policy Housing for All and Limerick City and County Council is the leading local authority in the country on implementing this measure.

The council’s work is complemented by the Government’s Croi Conaithe Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, administered by Limerick City and County Council, which provides incentives to purchasers and owners to renovate vacant and derelict property. 

A full list of sites currently on the Derelict Sites Register is on Limerick.ie website