Hundreds of homes in unfinished estates to come under control of Cork County Council
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More than 640 homes in unfinished estates in North Cork are to come under the control of Cork County Council for future infrastructural maintenance.
It is good news for the residents of the seven estates, which will now see basic maintenance works handled by the local authority under a process known as taking in charge.
It does not mean the estates will become social housing but, rather, that the day-to-day upkeep of the estates will now be handled by the council rather than the developers which built them.
However, it just scratches the surface of the issue with unfinished estates in Cork.
In recent weeks, councillors wrote to the Government seeking funding so it can fix sub-standard infrastructure in housing estates built by some developers before taking them in charge itself.
Residents in some estates in the county have been waiting 25 years for the local authority to take over their day-to-day maintenance. Some are in poor condition because developers have not completed footpaths or lighting, as well as issues with wastewater or upkeep of green areas.
The council is currently being asked to take in charge 219 estates around the county, but it says it does not have the money necessary to fix every outstanding legacy issue in all of them.
Councillors were this week told the process is nearing completion for seven estates: Ard na Gaoithe, Dromahane; Brookfield at Ballyviniter, Mallow; Castlepark, at St. Joseph’s Road, Mallow; Cluain na Greine, in Dromahane; Cois Tobair, also in Dromahane; Meadowside at Dromina; and The Gables at Dromina.
Housing director Maurice Manning said a consultant had been employed to report on additional works needed and a tender for these works will be issued in due course if such works are identified.
Meanwhile, Mr Manning also informed councillors that the council's choice-based letting (CBL) scheme currently has a refusal rate of around 6%. Under the scheme, social housing applicants can browse the number of available houses and apply for specific properties.
Councillors were told that 6% of those who have applied opt to not take up the offer of the property, meaning it has to be re-let.
In addition, these applicants are then, in effect, relegated back down the list and are excluded from applying again for 12 months.
Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O’Flynn said he was “very disappointed” and surprised people would turn down renting a property in the middle of a housing crisis.
He said this is unacceptable because once this happens council officials have to go back to the drawing board and start the process again, which is taking up valuable time.
Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy agreed, but said some people are so desperate they'll apply multiple times for properties, which are not even that close to them, and applicants probably don’t do ‘their homework’ when it comes to their location, availability of school places, public transport, amenities etc.
Fine Gael councillor Gerard Murphy was also surprised. He told Mr Manning it hadn’t been made clear to councillors that there was a penalty clause in a refusal, because applicants “unfortunately don’t read the small print".
“This needs to be made very clear in the application (form). There should be one page (dedicated to it) in big print,” he said.
Mr Manning said that people are entitled to refuse a property and there is nothing the council can do about that, but “they should realise they will then be excluded from the process for 12 months.”