Few derelict fines paid in Laois but Vacant Homes grant pays out millions

The carrot and stick approach in Laois on vacancy and dereliction is showing that offering grants rather than charging fines is working on owners.

Owners of derelict properties face legal fines if their property is placed on the derelict sites register.

However, along with owners of vacant sites, they can also avail of different generous grants to bring their property back to residential use, in light of the ongoing housing crisis.

Laois County Council has confirmed that it has paid out over €6 million to aid renovations of vacant and derelict homes in the past three years, but most of the homeowners of derelict sites are not paying up their fees.

There are currently 45 sites on the Laois Derelict Sites Register who are being charged annual fines for letting their properties fall to ruin or be filled with rubbish. However less than 1 in 10 of the value of the fines are being paid in Laois.

In 2025 the council issued fines totalling €233,100 but only received payments of €18.316. In 2024 it sent notices totalling nearly €185,000 and got back just €17,150.

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant was popular in 2025, with 69 new applications received. Since 2022, the council has paid out 115 of the grants, totalling €6.3 million. More than half of the payments, €3.7m was paid out in 2025.

In total since it was introduced in 2022, owners of 275 vacant Laois homes have applied for the grant. Of those, 132 were rural and 142 were urban which means within 1km of a town or village.

The grant gives €50,000 to owners of vacant homes once the works are done and properly invoiced, and a top-up of €20,000 more if the property was derelict.

A repair and leasing scheme whereby the council then gets to lease back the repaired house for their own tenants, is proving much less popular. Just two applications were made in 2025.

The figures were given at the December 2025 meeting of Laois County Council.

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Derelict means any land which detracts, or is likely to detract, to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood.

Reasons can be the existence of structures which are in a ruinous, derelict or dangerous condition, or the neglected, unsightly or objectionable condition of land or any structures on the land. It can also mean the presence, deposit or collection on the land in question of any litter, rubbish, debris or waste, except where such debris results from the exercise of a right conferred by statute or law.