Members of the public may report vacant houses to:

www.vacanthomes.ie

This website allows the public to make anonymous reports (although you can give your contact details if you wish). This website is run by Mayo County Council but all reports relating to Co Wicklow are forwarded to Wicklow Co Co.

Alternatively email us directly at: vacanthomes@wicklowcoco.ie

All reports are investigated.

Don’t assume that we know about a vacant house – it may not have been reported or otherwise have come to our attention.

What will Wicklow Co Co do about a vacant house?

We will investigate to establish:

• Is the house long term vacant?
• What are the circumstances?
• Who owns the house?

If we can identify an owner, we will attempt to engage with that owner with a view to bringing the house back into occupation. We will make the owner aware of various schemes and initiatives to help them do that, e.g.

• Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS)
• Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)
• Long Term  Leasing
• Repair & Lease Scheme

If those attempts are not successful then we will make use of Statutory powers such as:

• Compulsory Purchase Order
• Derelict Sites Act
• Housing Act 1966 – Repair Orders

E.g. Wicklow Co Co currently (March 2022) has 15 CPOs of long-term vacant houses underway. The CPO process is being used to acquire long term vacant houses for use as Social Housing.