REVEALED: Council is ready to step in and transform neglected buildings

Tipperary County Council is ramping up its campaign to breathe new life into vacant and derelict properties across the county.

Director of Services Brian Beck revealed that the Council is ready to step in and transform neglected buildings, using its authority to take over and restore them. He outlined a range of new funding supports designed to help owners revive empty and rundown properties.

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These include innovative loan schemes in which the Council rents out the property rather than requiring loan repayments, grants for owners to renovate homes for living or renting, and funding to convert unused shops into much-needed housing.

At Monday’s main meeting, councillors learned that the legal team will launch 28 property takeovers this year, with even more on the horizon. Staff have been tasked with identifying at least 100 additional rundown sites by 2026.

The current list features 115 properties countywide, including 25 vacant houses in Glen Court Estate, Emly, and two others in Glen Court that suffered fire damage.

The Government announced in the Budget that legislation will be introduced this year to move the collection of the levy from Councils as it is at present to Revenue, with the rate to be no higher than the current 7% of the property value.