VPRG ,Conversion of former Commercial/ Public Use Building
Introduction
Tackling vacancy and dereliction is a key priority under the national housing plan Delivering Homes, Building
Communities 2025-2030, with existing grants and schemes supporting bringing vacant and derelict
properties back into use being improved and expanded.
Objectives of the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund
Many areas of cities, towns, villages and rural parts of the country face the blight of vacant and derelict
properties, which, if brought back into use, could add real vibrancy and provide new homes in those areas.
The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, funded by the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, is a key initiative, which
underpins these policy objectives.
There are two schemes under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund which are delivered by local authorities. The
Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant provides people with a grant to support the refurbishment of vacant
properties, while under the Ready to Build Scheme, local authorities make serviced sites available in towns
and villages at a discounted rate to individuals who want to build their own home.
The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant
The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant was launched on 14 July 2022 and benefits those who wish to
turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence (PPR) or make it available to
rent.
The Grant applies to eligible vacant properties in cities, towns, villages and rural parts of the country that
have been vacant for two years or more prior to application and were built prior to 2008.
1The Ready to Build Scheme was launched on 21 September 2022. Under the Scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites
available in towns and villages at a discount on the market value, to individual purchasers for the building of their home which will
be their principal private residence. It is intended that the local authority will develop existing site(s) in their control or purchase
site(s) and make them available for development by providing services and access to the site(s) concerned. The level of discount to
the individual will depend on the level of servicing cost incurred by the local authority before the sale of the site with discounts up
to a maximum of €30,000. The amount of such discount will be reflected in the sale price of the site to the purchaser.
The grant is available to individuals or households. Applications can only be made by named individuals who
own the property for which the grant is being applied for or who are actively engaged in purchasing the
property.
A maximum of two grants are available to applicant(s) for two individual properties - one for a property
that will be their principal private residence and one for a property that will be made available for rent,
with a tenancy registered with the Residential Tenancies Board.
From 31st March 2026, the Grant is being expanded to support bringing more vacant and derelict properties
into use as homes. This includes the provision of top-up amounts to existing grant levels where vacant
former commercial/public use buildings are being converted in their entirety into two or more residential
units.
There is no maximum on the number of grants that an individual can apply for when applying for the Grant
for the conversion of an entire commercial/public use building into two or more units, however only one
grant, including top-up amounts, is payable per building.
VPRG- Commercial-Public-Use-Building-Application-Form-.PDF (size 1.8 MB)
Scheme-outline-VPRG-incl-commercial-Copy.pdf (size 1.3 MB)
VPRG---Commercial--Public-Use-Building-Application-form-Irish-version.pdf (size 1.8 MB)
Irish-Scheme-Outline-VPRG-with-Commercial-incorporated-1-4-26.pdf (size 1.3 MB)
If you want to submit an application ,have questions about the grant or want to know if your property qualifies, you can contact the Vacant Homes Officer by emailing vacanthomes@leitrimcoco.ie.