A pilot project to turn vacant properties back into homes is being launched by Mayo County Council.
The project will be funded by the Government's Housing Finance Agency and aims to identify vacant and derelict properties in Mayo and put the owners in touch with potential buyers.
This will be facilitated through start-up housing-solutions platform Homebuyer's Hero.
Director of Services with Mayo County Council Tom Gilligan explained that the council will assess vacant properties and then contact the owners to see if they are interested in taking part in the project.
Then those people who are interested in buying the properties can view them on the Homebuyer's Hero website where they can declare an interest.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said the project is focused on people who are looking for homes, who want to make it a principal private residence.
In relation to pricing, Mr Gilligan said property will be valued and he hopes that there will be co-operation and collaboration between the homeowners and the prospective buyers so that there will be a fair price paid.
However, the council will have the option for a compulsory purchase order.
"This is obviously something that we will use, but we want to use it as a last resort."
He said that as part of the Government’s housing plan 'Housing for All’, it does specify that local authorities can use CPOs.
"One of the key aspects here is that up to 2,500 vacant properties will be CPO’d for resale onto the open market, so local authorities like Mayo County Council do have the powers and the capacity to CPO properties," Mr Gilligan said.
He added that the council wants to match up the property owner with potential home buyer.
According to the last census, there are more than 166,000 vacant properties in Ireland, he said, adding that in Mayo, there are "9,166 vacant properties".
"So unfortunately, our towns, villages and some parts of our cities, we do have the scourge of vacant and derelict properties which is a total blight in relation to our society," he said.
The project is already running with several properties having already been identified. The council is working in conjunction with home buyers and the hope is that throughout 2023 to have a number of transactions completed.
