Councillor says Croí Cónaithe homes 'must not be used for profit'

A Westport councillor has queried the monitoring process in place for recipients of Croí Conaithe grants after claiming that some of them are renting their refurbished homes on Airbnb.

The Croí Cónaithe Grant Scheme provides up to €50,000 for vacant homes and up to €70,000 for derelict properties to help people refurbish them as their principal residence, with applications processed through local authorities.

However, Cllr Peter Flynn told a recent meeting of Mayo County Council's strategic policy committee for housing that he believed that successful applicants were not using the refurbished properties as principal residences.

“I understand people who receive the grants must use these houses as their residence and should not be using them for AirbnB and long-term rental profit, but I have been aware that some have gone into this.

“What checks have we in place and how do we know these houses don’t end up for speculation after these significant grants are handed out?” 

Director of Services Catherine McConnell replied that there are legal obligations around the Croí Conaithe scheme, one of which entails endorsing details of a lease. She advised Cllr Flynn that if he has a specific case the council will certainly follow up on it, adding: “There is a very significant monitoring programme whereby annual support is given in line with funding provided over a ten-year period, and throughout this people have to show proof of residency.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.