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BOARDED-UP HOUSES and crumbling buildings are a common feature of towns and cities across Ireland.
Derelict buildings contribute significantly to Ireland’s housing crisis, and bringing them back into use is one of the government’s strategies for addressing social housing shortfalls and getting more homes on the market.
Last month, the compulsory purchase order (CPO) process was used via An Coimisiún Pleanála for two properties – a drop on the seven applications made in February.
Under laws introduced in 1990, every local council keeps a Derelict Sites Register to encourage owners to bring vacant houses and land into use through the imposition of an annual levy of 7% of the property’s market value, which applies until the site is no longer derelict.
When someone objects to a local authority’s attempt to obtain a property via the CPO process, the council can apply to An Coimisiún Pleanála to do so.
The Housing Act also allows local authorities to acquire vacant homes via CPO, which they must also apply to do via the commission.
The process is similar to making a standard planning application, and the board weighs up submissions from the council and the owner of the land before deciding whether a site can be subject to a CPO.
The number of properties that councils try to CPO via the commission every month is relatively small.
It is worth noting, however, that Ireland’s councils successfully CPO other properties without having to go to the commission, which helps bring derelict properties back into use.
The Journal first reported in March that local authorities acquired a total of 99 properties via Compulsory Purchase Orders last year.
We have also been keeping track of the vacant and derelict properties that councils have sought to acquire via the over the past 12 months.
There are usually multiple applications to the board to acquire housing in most months, but January has now joined December as the first months in The Journal’s series where an application was made to CPO just one property.
This list shows the total number of applications made to An Coimisiún Pleanála by councils to CPO derelict properties since our series began in 2025:
In total, two councils applied to the commission in March to CPO properties between them. Here they are:
On 3 March, Cork City Coucil applied to acquire a property known as Monerea House at Monrea Terrace on Albert Road in Cork city.
The property was listed on the council’s derelict sites register in September last year, and the council first moved to acquire it via CPO in December.
No other information available about the property or its owners could be found online.
The case is due to be decided by 10 June.
On 6 March, Laois County Council made an application to CPO a large commercial property at 88 Main Street in Portlaoise.
A report last month said the property used to be home of the Irish toy retailer Ken Black, while The Leinster Express also reported that the building was a ladies’ boutique until the late 2010s before it fell into dereliction.
It’s not currently clear who the owner of the property is.
The case is due to be decided by 3 August.
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