Empty homes in Ireland — 166,000 vacant properties mapped

Census 2022 counted approximately 166,000 vacant homes in Ireland — roughly 8% of the national housing stock. The pattern is stark: vacancy is highest in the rural west and midlands where out-migration has left properties empty, and lowest in Dublin and its commuter belt where housing demand is highest.

Vacant homes — Census 2022 national figures

Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo — vacancy rates by county

Counties with the highest and lowest rates of vacant residential properties as a percentage of total housing stock.

Why there are so many empty homes in rural Ireland

• Rural out-migration: The primary driver of vacancy in Leitrim, Roscommon, and Mayo is decades of rural depopulation. Properties left by families who migrated to cities or emigrated have remained vacant — often inherited but not sold or rented, held for sentimental reasons or pending estate settlement.
• Holiday homes: Coastal counties (Donegal, Kerry, Clare, Wexford, Mayo) have significant holiday home stock. These are counted as vacant in Census 2022 if they were unoccupied on Census night in April. They inflate coastal county vacancy rates significantly.
• Condition and location: Many rural vacant homes are not in a condition that allows immediate occupation without significant renovation. They are often located far from employment centres, schools, and services. Government Vacant Property Refurbishment Grants (€50,000) aim to address this.
• Urban vacant homes are different: Vacancy in urban areas — particularly inner Dublin — is more often the result of investment property being held, planning permissions being awaited, or properties between tenancies. The causes and solutions are different from rural vacancy.

The Vacant Homes Tax and government policy

The Vacant Homes Tax (VHT), introduced in 2022 and increased in subsequent budgets, targets residential properties occupied for fewer than 30 days per year. The tax rate (currently 3× the property's Local Property Tax) aims to bring vacant properties back into use. Census 2022 provides the baseline against which the tax's effectiveness will be measured in Census 2027.

The Croí Cónaithe Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant provides up to €50,000 for rural vacant properties and €30,000 for urban ones, conditional on the property being a primary residence or a rental. Uptake has been significant in Leitrim, Roscommon, and Longford — the counties with the highest vacancy rates.

Electoral division level — where vacancy clusters

At ED level, vacancy clusters are visible in specific patterns: coastal EDs in Kerry, Donegal, and Clare (holiday homes), inland rural EDs in Leitrim and Roscommon (out-migration), and specific urban EDs with older housing stock or planning constraints. IrelandInsights maps housing occupancy data to this level of granularity.

Explore high-vacancy counties

← Housing crisis  ·  Rural Ireland →