Following on from last month’s article on the vacant and derelict property grants, Ruairi Kay speaks with Paul Deane about his experience with the grant in upgrading his home in Clonakilty
I first met Paul in May of 2024, when I completed a home energy assessment for him under the SEAI One Stop Shop Scheme. At this point, his plan was to apply for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and the SEAI OSS grants.
Paul first came across the property in August 2023 while looking for a new home for himself and his two children, around Clonakilty. At the time, he wasn’t aware of the vacant property grant but discovered it later while researching for the project. Interestingly, when the property went on the market first, it wouldn’t have been eligible for the vacant property grant, as it was only empty for about 18 months. The slow property sale process in Ireland meant that by the time Paul got the keys in January 2024 it was, over the two years, eligible to apply for the grant.
Once Paul had taken possession of the property, he started looking at what was required for the grant application. From his experience, he said “the key thing here is to spend time doing your research and make sure you fully understand what is required.” Cork County Council have a vacant property booklet on their website that you can downland which explains it all clearly. After reading through this, Paul established that the first thing he would need to do, was to prove that the property was vacant for two years. He found the easiest way to do this was to contact the ESB, who supplied him with a letter stating that the energy use in the past two years was low enough to confirm the property had been empty during this period. Once this stumbling block was passed, the next thing was to get quotes together for all the work. Before Paul started this process, he first did some strip out and demolition work on the house himself. He said he did this for two reasons: One, to save some money, but also to discover any potential issues before the main works started. This meant that all the contractors who followed had a clear picture of the work they were pricing for, and this greatly reduced the risk of extras or unwanted surprises further down the line. This was the stage that the work in his house was at when I met Paul at the property last May.
Paul then got together all his quotes and pointed out a few important things to consider at this stage. First of all, you can only claim for work completed after your application is approved. Paul completed some demolition and ground works before applying, which will not be eligible for any grant funding. You need to work with registered builders and any contractors you use have to have the necessary tax clearance. You can claim for materials used for work completed yourself, but not your time. Paul planned to do the decorating himself so filled an online shopping basket at a hardware store with all the materials he would need, as a quotation for this section. The final point is to make sure the amounts you are claiming for, do not exceed the maximum allowable amounts in each of the categories the council has set. The quotes you submit need to follow the same format as the council categories. There are a few exclusions too; for example, the grant will cover a new kitchen but not appliances, so if you have a quote for both, this needs to be separated out for the application. Likewise, timber flooring is covered but not carpets.
Paul also applied for an SEAI home upgrade grant working with a local One Stop Shop, (OSS) Insulex. The upgrades I agreed with Paul for this section of the work included; external wall insulation, triple glazed windows and doors, insulating all the roofs, mechanical ventilation along with an air-to-water heat pump including new radiators. This list attracted about €30,000 in additional SEAI grants.
Be aware that though you can apply for both, the vacant property grant and the OSS grants, you can’t claim for the same items under both schemes. For example, if your windows are estimated to cost €10,000, you can get a €4,000 grant under the OSS scheme, but you can’t claim the remaining €6,000 under the vacant grant. The list of items under each scheme needs to be distinctly separated. Paul made this very clear with his application and included a separate quotation for the OSS work as well as the work he was applying for under the vacant grant.
Getting all the paperwork together and filing in all the forms takes time and it is important to get this right. Paul reckons he spent about a week preparing the application. Incorrectly submitted information will only get sent back delaying your application. As Senior Lecturer in Clean Energy at UCC, Paul is reasonably familiar with government forms and said he finds that the key is to read all the documentation very carefully and then submit exactly what is asked for, no more or no less.
Once the application was submitted, a council engineer came to inspect quite quickly, then it was about another four weeks or so before an approval letter was received. Following that, Paul pushed ahead with the work, starting in earnest in September and moving in for Christmas!
I visited Paul again in December last year when the project was nearing completion to do a final BER and verify the energy upgrade side of things for Insulex to claim back his OSS grants. When I spoke with Paul again last week, he was just in the process of getting everything together to claim back the vacant property grant. He has now completed the first step, which was to notify the council that he is finished. Then, they provided a list of all the documentation that is required for the grant payment; invoices and proof of payment, tax clearance for all parties involved in the project, proof of ownership, proof that you have paid your property tax, a nominated solicitor who will provide a folio map and there is a claw back agreement you need to sign. Paul got his solicitor to review this: basically, if you sell the property within 10 years, you will need to pay back some part of the grant.
Paul mentioned two main shortcomings that he sees with the scheme; the lack of clarity on how the final payment is calculated and the need to fund the grant out of your own pocket until you are repaid by the council, in his case with a bridging loan. On the final payment, Paul has heard that it is very unusual to get the full amount paid back, which was a surprise to me. The council will pay for the value of the work completed, not necessarily what it costs you. Further clarity on how this is assessed is certainly needed. Paul is hoping for at least €45,000 of the €50,000 but he has yet to submit all his final paperwork and find out.
Talking of project costs, assuming Paul receives in the region of €45,000 for the vacant grant, he will be left with just under €50,000 to pay himself. He has also had an SEAI OSS grant of just over €30,000. So the total project cost is in the region of €130,000. Now, it is worth pointing out that Paul has done a portion of the work himself, which helped to keep costs down. The property is also relatively small and it was quite a straightforward project. Still, that is amazing value to take a G-rated dilapidated property to an A2-rated cosy and fully-renovated home.
If you would like to get in touch about anything in this article or your own retrofit project, feel free to reach out: email ruairi@retrofurb.ie.
