Vacant Property Grant 2026: Up to €70,000 Explained

Vacant Property Grant Amounts in 2026

The grant pays up to €50,000 for a vacant property and up to €70,000 for a derelict one, according to the Department of Housing's service page, and those amounts include VAT. The council sets the actual figure after a site visit and a "reasonable cost assessment", so the maximum is a ceiling, not a promise.

Department of Housing service page (updated October 22, 2026), scheme outline (August 2026) and December 16, 2025 press release. The commercial-conversion top-ups apply to applications made on or after March 31, 2026; the Vacant Above the Shop and Expert Advice grants opened on April 1, 2026.

What "derelict" means here. You need either an independent report from a registered building surveyor, engineer or architect confirming the building is structurally unsound and dangerous, or the property must already be on the council's Derelict Sites Register. Without one of those, you're capped at €50,000.

The work-category caps matter more than the headline. The scheme outline's table of works, based on a typical 2-storey, 3-bed semi-detached house, caps external doors and windows at €21,000, roof finishes at €14,000, internal finishes at €26,300 in total, kitchen units at €7,700, bathroom fittings at €2,800, external site works at €7,000, and professional fees at 10% plus VAT of the net construction cost or €14,000, whichever is less. Structural work, services such as plumbing and wiring, demolition and strip-out, and extensions are limited only by the overall €50,000 or €70,000. So a job dominated by a new kitchen and bathroom will hit the category caps long before the overall limit.

No fossil fuel boilers. Since December 1, 2024, the grant won't fund a stand-alone oil or gas boiler, and the council asks for the boiler type if heating is in your quote.

Who Qualifies and Which Properties Count

At least 2 years of vacancy and a build date before 2008 are the 2 property tests, and both have to be proved with documents. According to the Department's service page, you must:

• Own the property, or be actively buying it. If you're still buying, the council can give "approval in principle" when you show active negotiations, such as confirmation from the estate agent or owner. Nothing is paid until ownership transfers.
• Be a named individual. Sole traders can apply. Registered companies, developers and other undertakings can't.
• Prove 2 years of vacancy at the date you apply. Utility bills showing continuous zero or very low electricity use, or a disconnection, are the example the scheme outline gives. For former commercial buildings, commercial rates records can be used.
• Show it was built before 2008. A Dáil answer of January 27, 2026 described this as properties "built up to and including 2007". A house built in 2009 and never lived in doesn't qualify, whatever its condition.
• Use it as your home or rent it out. You can hold at most 2 single-dwelling grants: 1 for your principal private residence and 1 for a property let with a tenancy registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. Short-term letting and Airbnb use aren't allowed.

Agricultural buildings aren't eligible. Protected structures and traditional buildings are, but the outline tells owners to consult the council's Architectural Conservation Officer first. If planning permission to demolish and rebuild turns the project into a "new build", it's no longer eligible.

The 10-year clawback. The grant comes with a charge on the property for 10 years from payment. For a single home, you repay 100% of the grant if within 5 years you sell, stop living there as your main home or stop renting it, and 75% between 5 and 10 years. The charge ranks second to your mortgage, and the outline names AIB (with EBS and Haven), Bank of Ireland, Finance Ireland, AvantCard, Dilosk and PTSB as having agreed priority arrangements. If your lender isn't on that list, check that it will accept the charge before you rely on the grant.

How the Application Works, Step by Step

The council decided applications in an average of 65 days over the 12 months to June 2026, and 58 days across the 4 Dublin councils, according to a Dáil answer from the Minister for Housing on June 30, 2026. Payment comes much later, because it follows the works. Here's the sequence the scheme outline sets out:

1. Pick the right form. There's one form for a single vacant or derelict home and a separate one for converting a whole former commercial or public building into 2 or more homes. Both are on the gov.ie service page (opens in a new tab).
2. Send it with the evidence. Proof of ownership (or active purchase), proof of vacancy, proof of the build date, a quotation for the works, the dereliction report if you're claiming the top-up, Local Property Tax compliance, and planning permission or a declaration of exemption where needed.
3. Site visit. A council technical officer inspects to check the work is feasible and the costs are reasonable.
4. Decision letter. You get approval (with the approved amount) or approval in principle. You sign and return the letter.
5. Do the work. A Dáil answer of February 10, 2026 says approved works must be completed within 13 months for single homes, with extensions only in exceptional circumstances. The August 2026 scheme outline gives 18 months for conversions into multiple homes. Check the period printed on your own letter.
6. Claim. Send detailed invoices, your tax clearance, your contractors' tax clearance (needed for any contractor whose work exceeds €650), bank details, and for rentals, the RTB tenancy registration. Sign the charge document.
7. Final inspection and payment. The council inspects again and pays. It can pay less than the approved amount if the invoices or the finished work don't support it.

If you're refused, you can appeal in writing within 3 weeks of the decision. A council official who wasn't involved in the original assessment reviews it, which can take up to 6 weeks.

Buying and renovating with a council loan. If you're applying for the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan, the outline says passing its stage 1 assessment counts as evidence that you're buying, and the grant is then paid to the section of the council that manages the loan.

Grantsights Analysis of Vacant Property Grant Statistics by Council

The councils had received 19,986 applications, approved 15,380 and paid 7,162 grants worth €396,725,381 by September 30, 2026, according to the Department of Housing's July to September 2026 statistics. Grantsights compared each council's applications, rejections, approvals and payments from that release.

Grantsights analysis of the Department of Housing's "Vacant Property Grant Statistics, July to September 2026" (published October 19, 2026; cumulative from July 2022 to September 30, 2026), downloaded October 29, 2026. Council rows are the 10 largest by grants paid plus the councils with the highest and lowest rejection rates and the lowest paid shares. National totals include 78 Vacant Above the Shop applications. Averages are total paid divided by grants paid.

What the numbers tell you:

• Rejections are rare; drop-outs aren't. Only 3.7% of applications have been rejected, but the Minister told the Dáil on October 20, 2026 that 2,260 applications have been withdrawn, either by applicants who didn't proceed or by councils because required documents weren't provided. That's 3 times the number rejected. The common mistake is an incomplete file, not an ineligible house.
• Fewer than half of approvals have turned into payments. Nationally 47% of approved grants have been paid. Mayo (32%) and Galway County (33%) have the lowest paid shares among large councils, which means a lot of approved projects there are still on site or stalled.
• Kerry and Wicklow reject the most. Kerry has rejected 10.3% of applications and Wicklow 9.2%, against 0.8% in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. If you're in Kerry or Wicklow, talk to the Vacant Homes Officer about your evidence before you apply.
• The derelict top-up is the norm, not the exception. 9,523 of the applications to September 2026 were for the Derelict Property Top-up Grant, against 10,385 for the standard grant. That's why the average payment, €55,393, sits above the €50,000 vacant maximum.

The pace is rising. 809 grants worth €45,822,277 were paid in July to September 2026 alone, according to the same release, compared with 760 in the same quarter of 2025 (Department press release, December 16, 2025). Comparing the January 2026 press release (4,514 paid to December 2025) with the September figure (7,162), 2,648 grants were paid in the first 9 months of 2026.

The new Above the Shop scheme is slow to start. By September 30, 2026 there were 78 Vacant Above the Shop applications, 28 approvals and no payments, and 41 Expert Advice Grant applications with 2 paid. Case in point: Wicklow County Council is the only council to have paid any Expert Advice Grants, 2 of them totalling €8,253.40, so expect councils to be learning the new scheme as they go.

What the Department's Pages Don't Tell You About the Grant

The grant pays only after the work is finished, and the Department's own average from application to payment is 18 months (Dáil answer, January 27, 2026). These are the points that catch people out.

1. You fund the whole job first. Nothing is paid in stages. On a €70,000 derelict grant you need the full cost of the works, plus whatever goes over the caps, from savings or a loan until the council pays. Budget for that bridge before you buy.

2. The timelines don't line up. The October 20, 2026 answer says grants are paid "generally" 15 to 18 months after application, but the same answer gives a median of 87 days from approval to payment over the last 12 months. Grantsights couldn't reconcile the two figures, so plan on the longer one.

3. "Habitable" can hold up payment. A deputy asked the Minister on September 7, 2026 whether a council can refuse to pay an approved grant because the house isn't yet habitable, even when all grant-funded works are done. The question suggests at least one applicant has run into this. If your grant covers only part of the renovation, ask the council in writing what condition the house must be in at the final inspection.

4. The 13-month clock is tight in a busy building market. A deputy asked on February 10, 2026 for the completion period to be extended because tradespeople are scarce. The answer kept 13 months, with extensions only at the council's discretion in exceptional circumstances. Line up your builder before approval, not after.

5. Tax clearance has to be in place for everyone. You need your own tax clearance, and a contractor's tax clearance certificate for any contractor paid more than €650, obtained right before you pay them. The scheme outline says a missing contractor certificate can mean the grant is refused at drawdown.

6. Don't start before approval. The works must be approved in advance after the council's inspection. A builder who says "start now, the grant will follow" is a red flag.

7. SEAI grants are separate, not extra money for the same job. The outline says SEAI grants may be combined with the vacant property grant, but works funded by SEAI aren't also covered. Our SEAI grants guide lists the current insulation, heat pump and solar amounts.

Budget 2027: What's Announced and What's in Force

Budget 2027 didn't change the vacant property grant rates. The Budget 2027 Expenditure Report (October 9, 2026) lists "vacancy grants" among the measures in more than €1 billion for the Starter Homes Programme in 2027, alongside the First Home Scheme, Affordable Purchase, Cost Rental and Help to Buy, but it doesn't give a separate figure. The Minister told the Dáil in July 2026 that there were "currently no plans to increase the rate of payments for the grant".

The Derelict Property Tax matters if you're weighing whether to fix up a derelict building. According to the Department of Finance's Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes book, it will be 7% of the self-assessed value of a derelict property, collected by Revenue. In its first year it applies to 107 towns and cities with 4,000 or more people, rising to 171 towns of 2,000 or more in year 2. Councils inspect from January 1 to August 31, 2027, preliminary registers are published on September 1, 2027, owners can seek a review until November 30, 2027, and the first pay and file deadline is June 23, 2028. Owners who remediate within a reasonable time may be able to seek an abatement. None of this is law until the Finance Bill passes, and the details will be in that Bill.

Vacant Property Grant Scams and Safe Contacts

The 31 councils each have a full-time Vacant Homes Officer, according to the Minister's June 30, 2026 Dáil answer, and that officer is the right first contact. The Department publishes their contact list on gov.ie.

• There's no application fee. The Department's pages don't describe any fee to apply, and the form goes straight to the council. Anyone charging to "get you approved" or "fast-track" an application isn't part of the scheme.
• Phishing texts and calls. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission's phishing guidance (opens in a new tab) warns that scammers pose as government bodies and that callers may already know your name and address. Never click a link or call a number from an unexpected message; contact the council on a number from its own website.
• Doorstep builders. If you sign up to building work on your doorstep without arranging the visit, the CCPC says you have a 30-day cooling-off period (opens in a new tab). Get written quotes, check references, and make sure the contractor can provide tax clearance, since you'll need it to claim.
• If you've paid a scammer, contact your bank at once about a chargeback and report it to the Gardaí, as the CCPC advises.

Should You Apply?

Apply if you own, or are buying, a pre-2008 property that's been empty for 2 years and you can fund the work for 15 to 18 months before the grant arrives. The case for applying is strongest for derelict properties, where the €70,000 maximum (€84,000 on islands) covers a large share of structural work that's limited only by the overall cap.

It's a bad fit if you need the money up front, if the property is owned by a company and you won't transfer it, if you may sell within 10 years, or if most of your budget is kitchens, bathrooms and finishes, where the category caps bite. For older family members who need a home adapted rather than a vacant house restored, see our housing adaptation grant guide.

Related Grantsights guides for other countries:

• For energy upgrades once the house is habitable, read our SEAI grants guide.
• In the UK, our Disabled Facilities Grant guide covers council grants for adapting a home.
• Our ECO4 guide explains free insulation and heating through energy suppliers in Great Britain.
• For first home buyers in Australia, our First Home Owner Grant guide lists each state's grant.

Sources

All pages read in a browser, and files downloaded, on October 29, 2026.

• Department of Housing, Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant service page (opens in a new tab) (last updated October 22, 2026)
• Department of Housing, Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant scheme outline, August 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• Department of Housing, Vacant Property Grant Statistics, July to September 2026 (opens in a new tab) and the statistics collection (opens in a new tab)
• Department of Housing, Minister Browne announces continuation of Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant (December 16, 2025) (opens in a new tab)
• Department of Housing, Over 3,000 vacant or derelict homes brought back into use in 2025 (January 26, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
• Department of Public Expenditure, Budget 2027 Expenditure Reports (opens in a new tab)
• Department of Finance, Budget 2027 Taxation Measures (opens in a new tab)
• Dáil Éireann written answers on the vacant property grant: January 27, 2026 (opens in a new tab), February 10, 2026 (opens in a new tab), June 30, 2026 (opens in a new tab), July 28, 2026 (opens in a new tab), September 7, 2026 (opens in a new tab), October 15, 2026 (opens in a new tab) and October 20, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
• Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Phishing (opens in a new tab) and Buying online, over the phone, or on your doorstep (opens in a new tab)