Why are there so many empty homes ‘above the shop’ in a housing crisis?
New data from GeoDirectory shows rising levels of commercial vacant properties across the country with Munster marginally below the national average. The data shows 13.8% of properties in the region were vacant in the second quarter of 2023 while the national figure stood at 14.1%.
Analysis of the data carried out by EY Ireland reported that commercial vacancy rates increased in 20 out of 26 counties from June 2022 to June 2023. Chief Executive of GeoDirectory Dara Keogh said the national figure of 14.1% was the highest on record.
"Businesses are clearly still struggling with the increasing costs of doing business in regard to energy costs and food inflation. An additional challenge this year has been interest rate increases, which are generating some pressures for commercial owner occupiers and tenants," he said.
Walking down any main street in towns and cities across Ireland reveals the true reality. Vacant and decrepit shop fronts and derelict space above shops are rampant.
Why are there so many potential homes empty in a housing crisis? Why are all those spacious rooms above shops that in a former era accommodated the families of bankers, bakers, shopkeepers and publicans filled with storage and left to decay?
In 1994, the Living over the Shop Scheme (LOTS) was introduced with some success. This was followed by the Living City initiative in 2015 that offered owner-occupiers of both commercial and residential properties tax relief on the refurbishment of their properties. The latest initiative, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, operated through the Croí Cónaithe fund, offers further financial support to assist with refurbishment costs.
So why are so many ‘above the shop’ spaces still empty?
Strict terms and conditions can limit the extent of work that can be undertaken in some properties. Restrictive building controls that govern fire, disabled access, and energy make refurbishment of these spaces either impractical or prohibitively costly.
Incentives to renovate ‘above the floor’ premises into accommodation include the Repair and Lease Scheme. This encompasses up to €60,000 upfront refurbishment grants to property owners — the value of which is offset against agreed rent in long-term lease arrangements with the city or county council who will use the property for social housing.
This sounds like a win-win for both property owners and city and county councils trying to address the needs of long-term homeless single people, couples, and families trying to access secure affordable housing.
In Cork, the uptake of the scheme has been reported as disappointing, both in city and county.
"When you go into towns like Midleton, Youghal or Carrigaline and you look up above the shops, there’s buckets of empty spaces," said Independent Cork County councillor, Ben Dalton O’Sullivan, in June when he proposed a motion for the council to further promote the Repair and Lease Scheme, suggesting that 70% of the problem was a lack of awareness.
Director of Sherry Fitzgerald Lettings in Cork, John Murray, suggested that part of the problem was inertia among busy shop owners who have upstairs space but are too busy with work commitments to put the time and effort into organising the funding and refurbishment of space above the shop.
Award-winning architect Hugh Wallace suggests that if we are going to make good use of these spaces there needs to be a seismic shift in our approach to building regulations.
"Today we do things very differently to the way things were when these regulations were introduced. Fire prevention, detection and isolation systems have all become far more sophisticated and accessible. Why can’t these improved technologies be taken into account when planning for the repurposing of older buildings into much-needed homes?
Fire and building regulations consultant in Cork, Robin Knox, who has worked on many refurbishment projects in Cork city, agrees.
"A lot of modern advances can be put to good use to improve the standard of accommodation in these over-the-shop situations. No building is 100% safe but one can make those buildings safe, or as safe as practically possible," he said in August.
Other suggestions to incentivise the development of over-the-shop accommodation include rate reductions for downstairs retailers who co-operate to provide a separate entrance to upstairs accommodation or the removal of VAT for building projects that involve refurbishment of empty and derelict upper floors.
Improving the infrastructure outside the front door, and enhancing the local ambience as a family-friendly place to live can also have a huge impact on the potential attractiveness of inner city locations as good places to rent or buy.
Two pilot projects nearly three decades ago in North Main Street in Cork are examples of what can be achieved to bring long empty over-the-shop spaces back to life. Cork City Council helped create almost 60 apartments over shops.
Storerooms were converted into apartments that have proven highly popular with Irish but especially European tenants who started to flow into the city after the apartments had been completed.
North Main Street trader, Michael Creedon of Bradley’s Off-Licence and Food Store was quoted as saying that it adds a cosmopolitan feel to the street. "If you go into any European city, you stand on the street and you look up and every building has people living in it, it brings life to the cities."
I agree with that. One of the nicest things about cities like Barcelona, Florence or Brussels is the open shutters and the sounds of people living and socialising and working all around you. Talking, laughing, singing, arguing, playing — wouldn’t that be a nice vision for narrow winding streets like Barrack Street or Douglas Street in Cork.
A former shoe shop on the corner of Oliver Plunkett Street and Princes Street that was empty for a number of years and derelict overhead is now an A3-rated two-bed apartment and demonstrates what can be achieved if the will is there to see it through.
Work is also underway on the iconic Bank of Ireland building on Bridge Street to complete 14 apartments, as well as five apartments over the former AIB branch on Patrick Street and other sites on the Grand Parade and on Douglas Street.
Hugh Wallace suggests that the solution to maximising the potential for refurbishing ‘over the shop’ is a defined strategy, developed by the relevant sectors including planners, conservationists, architects, developers, and policy makers to explore the possibility of real change that will allow these vital spaces to be utilised before they crumble into the ground.
Other cities have solved this problem. Isn’t it time we put our heads together and got this right?
- Dr Catherine Conlon is a public health doctor in Cork and former director of human health and nutrition, safefood.