LAST YEAR OVER 4,000 social houses sat empty, while it took local authorities an average of eight months to re-let homes, according to new figures released today.

The local authority watchdog, The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC), found that 2.75% of all social authority housing was vacant in 2024.

This figure was marginally lower than 2023, but 14 areas surpassed it, including Kilkenny, Carlow and Cork county. 

The areas with the least vacancies were Laois and Wexford, which both had less than 1% of empty social housing.

The average time for re-letting was 35.36 weeks – the highest recorded since 2014.

The report found that over €105m was spent in re-letting costs for 3,375 units. The average cost for re-letting was over €31,ooo per unit. 

The Department of Housing told The Journal that Housing Minister James Browne will be looking at why the average time for re-letting has increased and seeing what can be done to bring it down. 

“Local authorities will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock, which will fluctuate over time, as tenancy surrender and re-letting of stock is a continuous process,” a spokesperson said.  “Notwithstanding that and taking into account the overall reduction in the vacancy level to 2.75%, the Minister notes with some concern that average re-letting times have increased slightly since 2023.”

“The factor that contributed to this will be reviewed and measures to address this increase and to drive down re-let times will be included in the new voids plan currently in development.”

‘Too long’

Commenting on the report’s findings, Michael McCarthy, Chair of NOAC, said: “While the average re-letting time of 35 weeks remains too long, it is encouraging to see increased investment in housing maintenance and the determination of many local authorities to reduce vacancy rates further.”

“Continued focus in this area will be essential to delivering the homes our communities need”.

NOAC also found that local authorities are unlikely to meet national retrofitting target by 2030.

The government aims to retrofit 36,500 local authority properties to improve their energy rating to B2 Building Energy Rating (BER) by 2030.

In 2024, Dublin City retrofitted the highest number of homes, completing 408 units in 2024 (up from 259 in 2023).

Several local authorities, including Donegal, Cavan, and Galway, could not carry out the retrofits they planned due to funding limitations.

Maintenance

The report also found that local authorities spent over €220m on housing maintenance in 2024, with 26 local authorities increasing spending in this area.

Carlow had the lowest spend on housing maintenance (€642.68), while Dublin City had the highest (€2,894). Cork County recorded the highest increase in maintenance costs, from €679.91 in 2023 to €1,422.55 in 2024 – a 109% increase.

The report noted that performance was falling short on the aim to annually inspect 25% of rental properties.

It said: “Despite support from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), many local authorities are not meeting this requirement.”

“Four authorities recorded inspection rates of less than 10% and, as in 2023, continued to perform poorly – including Galway City (6.81%), Dublin City (7.58%), Wicklow (7.45%), and Carlow (8.70%).”