Council says attic conversions not 'practical' for overcrowded Louth social housing

Louth County Council have said it will not provide attic conversions to alleviate overcrowded social housing units. 

It comes after Sinn Féin councillor for Dundalk/Carlingford Fiona Mhic Conchoille tabled a motion at the February meeting of Louth County Council for the local authority to examine the feasibility of converting attics in council-owned houses. 

Cllr Mhic Conchoille said the move would act as a "practical and cost-effective means of increasing bedroom capacity for existing tenant families". 

She said such attic conversions are estimated to cost in the region of €30,000-€50,000, in comparison to €300,000-€350,000 for new-build units.

Tenants living in overcrowded accommodation must put themselves on the transfer list in order to move to a bigger property. 

The Sinn Féin councillor said giving families the option to convert attics would reduce pressure on the housing transfer list and would allow three-bedroom houses to function as four-bedroom homes where appropriate.

She said any such changes would prevent unnecessary family displacement and address overcrowding in a "timely manner". 

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In a written reply, Ger Murphy, Director of Services for Housing delivery with Louth County Council said attic conversions were neither a "practical nor implementable solution". 

He said it would not be possible due to fire safety requirements, building regulation, housing and planning standards. 

However, Mr Murphy acknowledged that there is cases of overcrowding throughout the local authority's housing stock, but said 10% of available dwellings are allocated to those on the transfer list. 

He added that there is also no funding stream available to support such a programme, and said it is instead "focused on addressing the refurbishment of void units". 

Mr Murphy said Louth County Council is also carrying our "reactive and proactive maintenance to the growing housing stock, and the implementation of the county-wide energy efficiency retrofit programme". 

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.