THE Government is to consider extending a rent-to-buy scheme to all local authorities in an effort to shift the stock of unsold affordable homes.
Under the scheme, tenants have an option to buy the home they are renting for an agreed price after a set number of years -- and the rent they have paid is offset against the cost of the property.
Announcing details of a pilot project in Dublin City yesterday, Housing Minister Michael Finneran said that some city and county councils were unable to sell units and that he would decide by the end of the year if the scheme should be rolled out nationally.
The move comes because of the collapse in the housing market which at one point left city and county councils with 3,700 unsold properties.
Developers have offered similar schemes in an attempt to shift unsold stock, but this is the first time a local authority has engaged in a similar process.
New figures show that just over 1,150 remain unsold, with almost half the units in Dublin (423) and Cork (104).
Yesterday, Mr Finneran launched a new rent-to-buy scheme for Dublin City Council which will result in 91 units being sold at a discount to the market price. Under the scheme, the affordable home can be rented for up to three years at a discounted rate. The applicant has the option to purchase at any time during this term at an agreed affordable purchase price.
Some 91 units are available in three developments -- Prospect Hill in Finglas, which will have 45 units, Herberton in Rialto (16 units) and Park View in Poppintree (12 units). They include apartments and duplex units.
If the properties are sold, the scheme could be rolled out to other local authority areas.
"First off, it can only apply to local authorities who have unsold affordables and have tried to deal with the existing criteria we have laid down to sell off units, like advertising and long-term leasing," Mr Finneran said.
Senior executive officer with the council, Tony Flynn, said the scheme was devised because people interested in purchasing a home said they could not save money for a deposit because they were renting in the private market.
"Taking that into consideration, we had a look at the private market and tried to come up with a scheme to suit affordable market applicants," he said.
"We have come up with a methodology here which basically should alleviate some of the concerns out there."
The council said that hundreds of people had inquired about the scheme yesterday.
Paul Melia and Patricia McDonagh
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label housing and planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housing and planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Call for data on housing stock
More precise figures for vacant housing stock outside the Greater Dublin Area are needed to get the planning process back on track, the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) said yesterday.
Although a number of reports have been published containing figures for the level of empty property around the country, the figures have a disparity of between 17 per cent and 47 per cent. The studies have been carried out by organisations including NUI Maynooth, Goodbody and UCD.
There are believed to be between 352,414 and 301,682 vacant houses in Ireland. Estimates for holiday homes range between 49,789 and 73,476.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Although a number of reports have been published containing figures for the level of empty property around the country, the figures have a disparity of between 17 per cent and 47 per cent. The studies have been carried out by organisations including NUI Maynooth, Goodbody and UCD.
There are believed to be between 352,414 and 301,682 vacant houses in Ireland. Estimates for holiday homes range between 49,789 and 73,476.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 5 April 2010
Meath county council to lease social housing from property owners
Nama may have found its first customer for the ghost estates across the country.
Meath county council last week announced it would enter into lease agreements with property owners for social housing for between 10 and 20 years. The long-term certainty of income would be attractive to the toxic loan company but would also attract the attention of developers with empty units.
The council said it would also be interested in buying a small number of two-, three- or four-bedroom houses for allocation to applicants on the social housing waiting list. However, it will not buy apartments, according to a tender on the e-tenders website.
"Priority will be given to purchases of houses in areas of greatest need, including Navan, Ashbourne, Dunboyne, Laytown/ Bettystown, Stamullen, Dunshaughlin, Duleek, Kells, Trim, Slane, and Oldcastle," it said.
The council said it will consider whether the proposed sale price reflects excellent value for money measured against current market valuations in the area as part of the process.
Meanwhile, it emerged last week that up to 2,100 housing units assigned for affordable housing could be empty by the end of the year. Already 1,100 remain unsold and another 1,000 are coming on stream this year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Meath county council last week announced it would enter into lease agreements with property owners for social housing for between 10 and 20 years. The long-term certainty of income would be attractive to the toxic loan company but would also attract the attention of developers with empty units.
The council said it would also be interested in buying a small number of two-, three- or four-bedroom houses for allocation to applicants on the social housing waiting list. However, it will not buy apartments, according to a tender on the e-tenders website.
"Priority will be given to purchases of houses in areas of greatest need, including Navan, Ashbourne, Dunboyne, Laytown/ Bettystown, Stamullen, Dunshaughlin, Duleek, Kells, Trim, Slane, and Oldcastle," it said.
The council said it will consider whether the proposed sale price reflects excellent value for money measured against current market valuations in the area as part of the process.
Meanwhile, it emerged last week that up to 2,100 housing units assigned for affordable housing could be empty by the end of the year. Already 1,100 remain unsold and another 1,000 are coming on stream this year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
City Council seeks to issue bond to fund social housing
DUBLIN City Council is attempting to issue a bond on the international markets in an attempt to fund several municipal projects around the capital.
It would be the first time such a move has been made by an Irish local authority although several success stories of bond-funded development in other countries have been cited by its supporters.
Council officials are now drawing up a wish list of social projects they would like to see funded, specifically looking towards the rejuvenation of social housing.
Should the council receive the green light to issue such a bond, investors would essentially fund the various projects in return for interest repayments and an eventual return of their entire capital investment.
It is understood that debts incurred through the bond would be met by the rent and sale of local authority properties.
However, the project has already run into difficulties.
Although initially told it had the authority to proceed, the council discovered that due to a recent amendment in the Local Government Act, any state agency wishing to issue a bond must now seek the permission of the Minister for Finance.
"The bond would then be part of the national debt so I doubt they will allow us to do that," said Labour Cllr Killian Forde, who masterminded the move.
"Each local authority had the ability to raise a bond and we are working off the assumption that we could still do that.
"But we still want to do this."
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
It would be the first time such a move has been made by an Irish local authority although several success stories of bond-funded development in other countries have been cited by its supporters.
Council officials are now drawing up a wish list of social projects they would like to see funded, specifically looking towards the rejuvenation of social housing.
Should the council receive the green light to issue such a bond, investors would essentially fund the various projects in return for interest repayments and an eventual return of their entire capital investment.
It is understood that debts incurred through the bond would be met by the rent and sale of local authority properties.
However, the project has already run into difficulties.
Although initially told it had the authority to proceed, the council discovered that due to a recent amendment in the Local Government Act, any state agency wishing to issue a bond must now seek the permission of the Minister for Finance.
"The bond would then be part of the national debt so I doubt they will allow us to do that," said Labour Cllr Killian Forde, who masterminded the move.
"Each local authority had the ability to raise a bond and we are working off the assumption that we could still do that.
"But we still want to do this."
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Charity in line to be among State's big homeowners
A HOUSING charity believes it could become one of the largest owners of residential property in the State by the end of this year.
Private housing association Respond has 5,200 houses, most of which have been built by its own company for local authorities and large housing associations.
By the end of 2010 a further 4,000 recently built houses will be bought by the Waterford-based organisation to provide high-quality, community-based housing.
The expansion plan has been brought about by a decision by the Department of the Environment, to request private housing associations produce or procure social housing instead of local authorities.
The Incremental Purchase Scheme, legislation for which has yet to be enacted, has been welcomed by Franciscan friar Fr Pat Cogan, who is managing director of Respond.
“We are being asked to take on the responsibility of providing social housing for applicants to the State.
“And we’re doing that in a formula that has never been used before in any commercial dealing, to my knowledge, particularly with the draconian Charities Act hanging over our heads,” he said, in reference to a law which makes directors of registered charities personally liable for financial losses.
“It’s exactly like futures. We have to raise the mortgage privately, over 25 years, the assumed life of the mortgage. This is not strictly underwriting. But the leasing agreement is limited to 80 per cent of the market value of rents in that area,” he explained.
Because of the economic downturn and demographic trends, Respond said Ireland could be left with a lot of vacant residential property. However, the charity said it was seeking to purchase in viable communities, not ghost estates.
Respond has gone to tender with five banks for the provision of mortgages and is in discussion with one bank.
Fr Cogan described the planned change in the provision of social housing as the most radical housing development since the foundation of the State. “Up to now, for social housing purposes, houses were always provided by the local authorities or the Department of the Environment.
“In some cases houses were being bought by the local authorities from private developers; in other cases developed directly by the local authorities.”
Some of the direct development for local authorities over the last 25 years was undertaken by Respond, which has a 350-strong team of construction workers, designers, architects and technicians.
Its first building project was the construction of sheltered housing for the elderly in Francis Court in Waterford city.
Other projects include the provision of 97 houses in Fermoy in Co Cork and at Merchant’s Quay in Carlow.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Private housing association Respond has 5,200 houses, most of which have been built by its own company for local authorities and large housing associations.
By the end of 2010 a further 4,000 recently built houses will be bought by the Waterford-based organisation to provide high-quality, community-based housing.
The expansion plan has been brought about by a decision by the Department of the Environment, to request private housing associations produce or procure social housing instead of local authorities.
The Incremental Purchase Scheme, legislation for which has yet to be enacted, has been welcomed by Franciscan friar Fr Pat Cogan, who is managing director of Respond.
“We are being asked to take on the responsibility of providing social housing for applicants to the State.
“And we’re doing that in a formula that has never been used before in any commercial dealing, to my knowledge, particularly with the draconian Charities Act hanging over our heads,” he said, in reference to a law which makes directors of registered charities personally liable for financial losses.
“It’s exactly like futures. We have to raise the mortgage privately, over 25 years, the assumed life of the mortgage. This is not strictly underwriting. But the leasing agreement is limited to 80 per cent of the market value of rents in that area,” he explained.
Because of the economic downturn and demographic trends, Respond said Ireland could be left with a lot of vacant residential property. However, the charity said it was seeking to purchase in viable communities, not ghost estates.
Respond has gone to tender with five banks for the provision of mortgages and is in discussion with one bank.
Fr Cogan described the planned change in the provision of social housing as the most radical housing development since the foundation of the State. “Up to now, for social housing purposes, houses were always provided by the local authorities or the Department of the Environment.
“In some cases houses were being bought by the local authorities from private developers; in other cases developed directly by the local authorities.”
Some of the direct development for local authorities over the last 25 years was undertaken by Respond, which has a 350-strong team of construction workers, designers, architects and technicians.
Its first building project was the construction of sheltered housing for the elderly in Francis Court in Waterford city.
Other projects include the provision of 97 houses in Fermoy in Co Cork and at Merchant’s Quay in Carlow.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 18 January 2010
Vacant homes to meet housing needs
THERE are more than 100,000 vacant houses nationwide which the Department of the Environment now wants to secure to solve social housing problems.
Junior minister for housing Michael Finneran said the latest figures available to him are that there are 100,000 to 140,000 vacant properties across the country, not including holiday homes. At least 10,000 of these are in Dublin.
He now wants to target these for extended long term leasing and rental accommodation schemes to meet growing demands for social housing.
Mr Finneran made a presentation to the Cabinet last week on his strategy.
He said if there is a social housing demand at the same time that a slew of vacant properties exist, it would be remiss not to link one with the other.
"I would be a foolish minister if I did not try to match our problem [social housing] with their problem [vacant houses]," he said.
There are 56,000 people on local authority housing lists. More than 20,000 of these would already be placed in accommodation by councils under rent assistance schemes.
"I see an opportunity [after the property crash] because there are a lot of vacant properties and every cloud has a silver lining," he said.
He has allocated €40 million for the long-term leasing scheme, targeted at 4,000 houses this year.
Another €80m will be spent on the rent accommodation scheme, set to open up 8,000 houses.
Mr Finneran said the latest figures available to the Department of the Environment are well over the 40,000 figure used by the Construction Industry Federation.
But he said the department’s figures are the most reliable estimate as they are not confined to those still held by developers.
However, many of the units are not suitable for the needs of those on the housing list because of size and access issues.
Mr Finneran said capital assistance grants will be used to adapt these houses and make them suitable for those with mobility problems or disabilities.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Junior minister for housing Michael Finneran said the latest figures available to him are that there are 100,000 to 140,000 vacant properties across the country, not including holiday homes. At least 10,000 of these are in Dublin.
He now wants to target these for extended long term leasing and rental accommodation schemes to meet growing demands for social housing.
Mr Finneran made a presentation to the Cabinet last week on his strategy.
He said if there is a social housing demand at the same time that a slew of vacant properties exist, it would be remiss not to link one with the other.
"I would be a foolish minister if I did not try to match our problem [social housing] with their problem [vacant houses]," he said.
There are 56,000 people on local authority housing lists. More than 20,000 of these would already be placed in accommodation by councils under rent assistance schemes.
"I see an opportunity [after the property crash] because there are a lot of vacant properties and every cloud has a silver lining," he said.
He has allocated €40 million for the long-term leasing scheme, targeted at 4,000 houses this year.
Another €80m will be spent on the rent accommodation scheme, set to open up 8,000 houses.
Mr Finneran said the latest figures available to the Department of the Environment are well over the 40,000 figure used by the Construction Industry Federation.
But he said the department’s figures are the most reliable estimate as they are not confined to those still held by developers.
However, many of the units are not suitable for the needs of those on the housing list because of size and access issues.
Mr Finneran said capital assistance grants will be used to adapt these houses and make them suitable for those with mobility problems or disabilities.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 20 November 2009
When new homes go bad
THE PEOPLE living in a handful of newly-built houses in a small estate in Dublin were distinctly unimpressed when sewage started backing up into their homes earlier this year. It became clear that the problem wasn’t isolated to a single house or two so the residents employed an engineer to investigate the problem.
He found that the pipes laid by the builder and connected to Dublin City Council’s main sewer network were of poor quality and not fit for the purpose. In the normal course of events, the council would have taken responsibility for rectifying the problem but this is not a normal situation as the developer had never had his work approved by the authorities. As it effectively had no planning permission, the council washed its hands of the situation.
The cost of re-laying the pipes will run to around €100,000, or €8,000 per house, and while the residents can take an action against the builder, a solicitor familiar with the case told The Irish Times that such action may be futile. It will take two years to get to court, the pipes have to be fixed immediately and in all likelihood the developer, whose financial situation is already perilous, may have gone out of business long before their case is heard.
The problem faced by Linda McGrath isn’t as severe but is still annoying. She bought a newly built apartment in August 2006 and, after a couple of months, the wall mounted lights stopped working.
She contacted the developer who passed the problem onto the electrical contractors who wired the house. They carried out some minor repairs and replaced some fittings but the lights still didn’t work so they advised the couple to contact the ESB. The ESB determined the wiring was faulty, information which McGrath relayed to the electricians who were supposed to come back to do a full electrical analysis within a few weeks. “We never heard from them again,” she says.
The couple now has no hall lights, no bedroom lights and the children’s room “has one light which only lights when you play with the switch nicely”. She wants to know what happens in situations “where there is an evident problem and I have handed over a substantial amount of cash for this apartment. Where do I turn to get this problem solved?” Is it the developers, the ESB, the electricians or the Register of Electrical Contractors of Ireland? “If you have a receipt you can go to the shop and get your goods replaced or fixed or refunded but, when it’s a property, who do you call?”
One avenue which is of little use to McGrath is the HomeBond new-build insurance scheme which covers housebuyers against serious structural damage up to €200,000 for 10 years after the house is built. HomeBond may, however, come to the aid of Sean Murphy (not his real name) but he has been waiting nearly a year for a major problem to be addressed by the organisation.
He bought a newly-built apartment in Clonee four years ago and, almost as soon as he moved in, cracks appeared on the walls. He contacted the developer who assured him they were minor “settling in cracks” and to give it six months. A year later he contacted the developer who insisted the problem was cosmetic. He re-filled them but they reappeared.
Murphy decided to sell up two years ago and quickly found a buyer. The survey carried out on behalf of the buyer revealed that the cracks were structural so the sale fell through. A second sale has also fallen through at the last minute after a different surveyor uncovered the structural damage.
The developer who built the apartment has gone out of business and Murphy has been dealing with HomeBond since early this year. He says contacting the insurer and getting it to expedite the repair process is difficult as it insists on sending repeated letters to the builder – although they have shut down – and the letters are being delivered to an empty office.
HomeBond was changed last year and operates on two tiers – one covers houses built after October 2008 and another houses built before then. Once a complaint is made about a house or apartment which falls into the former category, a technical inspector is sent to examine the problem. If they conclude that work needs to be done and that it falls within the parameters of the policy, a payment is issued.
Making claims on properties registered with HomeBond prior to October 2008 is not as easy and those doing so have first to deal wi\th the builder who must investigate the complaint and reply within a reasonable time (there is no clear guidance as to what’s considered reasonable).
If they don’t take action consumers can contact HomeBond with a claim – but if Murphy’s experience is anything to go by the process can be slow.
These consumers struggling with poorly constructed properties thrown up at speed during the boom years are stories of our time.
While many of the houses and apartments built during the good times are good quality, others are falling to bits and the builders who built them are reluctant to address the issues as they are struggling financially and cannot afford the outlay on properties they assumed were off their books.
Last year the National Consumer Agency (NCA) published an extensive report on the Irish home construction industry. It examined costs to consumers and the protections available when buying or upgrading a property and reported that 21 per cent of people surveyed said they had experienced problems. The main problems reported were poor workmanship (57 per cent) and failure to complete to a schedule. Some 17 per cent of people complained about work being started but not completed while 13 per cent referred to quality of materials issues.
The average cost of putting problems right in recently built houses and apartments was €1,911. Worryingly, the report found that consumers who had recently bought houses would, as yet, be unaware of many of the problems, including those relating to wall insulation and foundations.
It found that consumers were “poorly protected” in legislation and made 25 recommendations, including a statutory system of certificates of compliance for contractors and subcontractors, a simple contract for small domestic works and better dispute-resolution procedures.
The chief executive of the NCA Ann Fitzgerald told The Irish Times earlier this week that consumers often have more legal protections when they “buy a kettle compared with buying a house”. She said there had been “significant progress” since the publication of its report last November but accepted that more work needed to be done to improve consumer protections.
The NCA had a nominated representative on the Building Regulations Advisory Board and there had been “major improvements in the level of information available to consumers via the new Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland website and the new HomeBond package”.
She also said the RIAI had confirmed to the NCA that it was writing a professional indemnity clause into its new standard contract and said a number of professional bodies were working on the development of a standard contract which the NCA would review in due course.
Fitzgerald said the NCA was working on an alternative dispute resolution process, covering the wider area of consumer redress. She said this would include elements which would help people resolving problems with properties without having to take an expensive route through the courts.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
He found that the pipes laid by the builder and connected to Dublin City Council’s main sewer network were of poor quality and not fit for the purpose. In the normal course of events, the council would have taken responsibility for rectifying the problem but this is not a normal situation as the developer had never had his work approved by the authorities. As it effectively had no planning permission, the council washed its hands of the situation.
The cost of re-laying the pipes will run to around €100,000, or €8,000 per house, and while the residents can take an action against the builder, a solicitor familiar with the case told The Irish Times that such action may be futile. It will take two years to get to court, the pipes have to be fixed immediately and in all likelihood the developer, whose financial situation is already perilous, may have gone out of business long before their case is heard.
The problem faced by Linda McGrath isn’t as severe but is still annoying. She bought a newly built apartment in August 2006 and, after a couple of months, the wall mounted lights stopped working.
She contacted the developer who passed the problem onto the electrical contractors who wired the house. They carried out some minor repairs and replaced some fittings but the lights still didn’t work so they advised the couple to contact the ESB. The ESB determined the wiring was faulty, information which McGrath relayed to the electricians who were supposed to come back to do a full electrical analysis within a few weeks. “We never heard from them again,” she says.
The couple now has no hall lights, no bedroom lights and the children’s room “has one light which only lights when you play with the switch nicely”. She wants to know what happens in situations “where there is an evident problem and I have handed over a substantial amount of cash for this apartment. Where do I turn to get this problem solved?” Is it the developers, the ESB, the electricians or the Register of Electrical Contractors of Ireland? “If you have a receipt you can go to the shop and get your goods replaced or fixed or refunded but, when it’s a property, who do you call?”
One avenue which is of little use to McGrath is the HomeBond new-build insurance scheme which covers housebuyers against serious structural damage up to €200,000 for 10 years after the house is built. HomeBond may, however, come to the aid of Sean Murphy (not his real name) but he has been waiting nearly a year for a major problem to be addressed by the organisation.
He bought a newly-built apartment in Clonee four years ago and, almost as soon as he moved in, cracks appeared on the walls. He contacted the developer who assured him they were minor “settling in cracks” and to give it six months. A year later he contacted the developer who insisted the problem was cosmetic. He re-filled them but they reappeared.
Murphy decided to sell up two years ago and quickly found a buyer. The survey carried out on behalf of the buyer revealed that the cracks were structural so the sale fell through. A second sale has also fallen through at the last minute after a different surveyor uncovered the structural damage.
The developer who built the apartment has gone out of business and Murphy has been dealing with HomeBond since early this year. He says contacting the insurer and getting it to expedite the repair process is difficult as it insists on sending repeated letters to the builder – although they have shut down – and the letters are being delivered to an empty office.
HomeBond was changed last year and operates on two tiers – one covers houses built after October 2008 and another houses built before then. Once a complaint is made about a house or apartment which falls into the former category, a technical inspector is sent to examine the problem. If they conclude that work needs to be done and that it falls within the parameters of the policy, a payment is issued.
Making claims on properties registered with HomeBond prior to October 2008 is not as easy and those doing so have first to deal wi\th the builder who must investigate the complaint and reply within a reasonable time (there is no clear guidance as to what’s considered reasonable).
If they don’t take action consumers can contact HomeBond with a claim – but if Murphy’s experience is anything to go by the process can be slow.
These consumers struggling with poorly constructed properties thrown up at speed during the boom years are stories of our time.
While many of the houses and apartments built during the good times are good quality, others are falling to bits and the builders who built them are reluctant to address the issues as they are struggling financially and cannot afford the outlay on properties they assumed were off their books.
Last year the National Consumer Agency (NCA) published an extensive report on the Irish home construction industry. It examined costs to consumers and the protections available when buying or upgrading a property and reported that 21 per cent of people surveyed said they had experienced problems. The main problems reported were poor workmanship (57 per cent) and failure to complete to a schedule. Some 17 per cent of people complained about work being started but not completed while 13 per cent referred to quality of materials issues.
The average cost of putting problems right in recently built houses and apartments was €1,911. Worryingly, the report found that consumers who had recently bought houses would, as yet, be unaware of many of the problems, including those relating to wall insulation and foundations.
It found that consumers were “poorly protected” in legislation and made 25 recommendations, including a statutory system of certificates of compliance for contractors and subcontractors, a simple contract for small domestic works and better dispute-resolution procedures.
The chief executive of the NCA Ann Fitzgerald told The Irish Times earlier this week that consumers often have more legal protections when they “buy a kettle compared with buying a house”. She said there had been “significant progress” since the publication of its report last November but accepted that more work needed to be done to improve consumer protections.
The NCA had a nominated representative on the Building Regulations Advisory Board and there had been “major improvements in the level of information available to consumers via the new Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland website and the new HomeBond package”.
She also said the RIAI had confirmed to the NCA that it was writing a professional indemnity clause into its new standard contract and said a number of professional bodies were working on the development of a standard contract which the NCA would review in due course.
Fitzgerald said the NCA was working on an alternative dispute resolution process, covering the wider area of consumer redress. She said this would include elements which would help people resolving problems with properties without having to take an expensive route through the courts.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Call for review of Affordable Housing Partnership
THE RATIONALE for the Affordable Housing Partnership should be reviewed in light of the changed conditions in the housing market, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General has found.
In a survey of affordable housing provision, the comptroller noted that the partnership, which was set up in 2005 to speed up the delivery of affordable housing in the greater Dublin area, had been a flexible tool that helped the Department of the Environment adjust housing policy in line with market conditions.
Between 2005 and 2008, 85 per cent of the affordable homes target was achieved, and the output increased by about 4,000 housing units in the period 2006-08 by comparison with the previous three years. The department attributes almost 1,100 of this rise to the activities of the partnership, the report found.
However, the stalled property market led to a build-up in the stock of unsold affordable housing units held by local authorities from 2,200 at the end of 2007 to 3,700 early this year.
Affordable homes are subsidised by the State for eligible first-time buyers who do not have the resources to buy on the open market. The home is bought at a discount to the market price and it is a condition that the purchaser must occupy it. If it is sold within 20 years, the vendor has to pay back a percentage of the sale price (clawback) to the local authority. This clawback reduces over time.
Under a new law passed earlier this month, the current clawback provisions are to be replaced with an arrangement under which the State would take an equity stake in the property.
“Overall, the examination concluded that the AHP has been a flexible instrument that helped the department adjust affordable housing policy in line with market conditions since 2005,” the report stated. “In the light of the changed housing market conditions and the proposed legislative adjustments it now appears necessary to review its rationale and potential future contribution once again.”
In a separate report on water services, the comptroller notes that, notwithstanding the department’s expenditure on the provision of drinking water (€869 million over the years 2002-2007), results of tests carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show “little significant improvement” in water quality.
These tests, which measure whether drinking water supplies meet the minimum standards of fitness for human consumption, show that public water supplies have been static at 98 per cent of the minimum standard, while private water scheme compliance has improved by two per cent to 95 per cent.
They also detail continuing problems in areas such as E.coli contamination and cryptosporidium.
The comptroller noted that the EPA’s mandate was strengthened in March 2007 and it has become the supervisory authority for water quality with enforcement powers. This resulted in an increased emphasis on monitoring and control procedures at local authority level and the compilation of a national remedial action list of 339 public water supplies requiring immediate action.
“It is reasonable to expect that the impact of this remedial programme will be reflected in a significant improvement in the measured compliance standards for public supplies,” the report states.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a survey of affordable housing provision, the comptroller noted that the partnership, which was set up in 2005 to speed up the delivery of affordable housing in the greater Dublin area, had been a flexible tool that helped the Department of the Environment adjust housing policy in line with market conditions.
Between 2005 and 2008, 85 per cent of the affordable homes target was achieved, and the output increased by about 4,000 housing units in the period 2006-08 by comparison with the previous three years. The department attributes almost 1,100 of this rise to the activities of the partnership, the report found.
However, the stalled property market led to a build-up in the stock of unsold affordable housing units held by local authorities from 2,200 at the end of 2007 to 3,700 early this year.
Affordable homes are subsidised by the State for eligible first-time buyers who do not have the resources to buy on the open market. The home is bought at a discount to the market price and it is a condition that the purchaser must occupy it. If it is sold within 20 years, the vendor has to pay back a percentage of the sale price (clawback) to the local authority. This clawback reduces over time.
Under a new law passed earlier this month, the current clawback provisions are to be replaced with an arrangement under which the State would take an equity stake in the property.
“Overall, the examination concluded that the AHP has been a flexible instrument that helped the department adjust affordable housing policy in line with market conditions since 2005,” the report stated. “In the light of the changed housing market conditions and the proposed legislative adjustments it now appears necessary to review its rationale and potential future contribution once again.”
In a separate report on water services, the comptroller notes that, notwithstanding the department’s expenditure on the provision of drinking water (€869 million over the years 2002-2007), results of tests carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show “little significant improvement” in water quality.
These tests, which measure whether drinking water supplies meet the minimum standards of fitness for human consumption, show that public water supplies have been static at 98 per cent of the minimum standard, while private water scheme compliance has improved by two per cent to 95 per cent.
They also detail continuing problems in areas such as E.coli contamination and cryptosporidium.
The comptroller noted that the EPA’s mandate was strengthened in March 2007 and it has become the supervisory authority for water quality with enforcement powers. This resulted in an increased emphasis on monitoring and control procedures at local authority level and the compilation of a national remedial action list of 339 public water supplies requiring immediate action.
“It is reasonable to expect that the impact of this remedial programme will be reflected in a significant improvement in the measured compliance standards for public supplies,” the report states.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Green housing schemes announced
Details of seven low carbon housing schemes were announced by Minister for the Environment John Gormley today.
The two- and three-bedroom houses are expected to cost residents less than €300 a year to run, according to Sustainable Energy Ireland. The A2 building energy rating of the houses should result in low heating and electricity prices.
The local authority housing schemes are to be funded under a €20 million "towards zero carbon homes" programme.
The costings for the seven projects were "very competitive" and indicate that the "leap to carbon neutral housing" can be made without impacting on the overall cost, Mr Gormley said.
The seven projects are in Tramore, Co Waterford, Clondalkin in South Dublin, Tralee, Co Kerry, Newbridge, Co Kildare, Roscommon Town, Tahmahon, Co Wexford, and Portlaoise,
Mr Gormley made the announcement as he turned the sod on the Emerald Project in Ballymun, which is to be one of the most energy efficient housing projects ever built in Ireland.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The two- and three-bedroom houses are expected to cost residents less than €300 a year to run, according to Sustainable Energy Ireland. The A2 building energy rating of the houses should result in low heating and electricity prices.
The local authority housing schemes are to be funded under a €20 million "towards zero carbon homes" programme.
The costings for the seven projects were "very competitive" and indicate that the "leap to carbon neutral housing" can be made without impacting on the overall cost, Mr Gormley said.
The seven projects are in Tramore, Co Waterford, Clondalkin in South Dublin, Tralee, Co Kerry, Newbridge, Co Kildare, Roscommon Town, Tahmahon, Co Wexford, and Portlaoise,
Mr Gormley made the announcement as he turned the sod on the Emerald Project in Ballymun, which is to be one of the most energy efficient housing projects ever built in Ireland.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Developer critical of zero-carbon housing strategy
MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley’s drive towards zero-carbon housing “will set us all running in the wrong direction and sentence generations to live with the consequences”, a leading property developer has warned.
Michael Cosgrave, a director of the Cosgrave Group, told the National Housing Conference in Sligo yesterday that the current strategy was based on using “untested new technologies”.
He was strongly opposed to new building regulations currently being drafted because they would mean that “every new home must become an energy producer” – principally through using solar panels on the roof to provide hot water or electricity.
Mr Cosgrave said it would be impractical to apply the new regulations to apartment buildings as there would not be enough roof space to accommodate all the solar panels required – and there were more practical ways to reduce carbon emissions.
He cited the example of Lansdowne Gate, a Cosgrave Group scheme of 280 apartments in Drimnagh, Dublin, which had been designed to maximise solar gain, with high levels of insulation, heat recovery ventilation and a district heating system.
This system, “which only takes up the space of three parked cars”, was largely responsible for an annual saving of 72,000kg of CO2 and cut the heating bills for each apartment by €200 per year, achieving 98 per cent energy efficiency. Mr Cosgrave said every occupier had individual control over the amount of heat they used. But although the overall scheme had achieved a relatively high B1 building energy rating (BER), “if it was constructed today, it would be non-compliant”.
He said it was essential to change the BER rating system to cover entire apartment buildings, rather than just individual homes.
According to the developer, “we’re missing big opportunities [to reduce Ireland’s carbon emissions] while chasing little ones”. In his view, district heating fuelled by combined heat and power (CHP) plants should be much more widely used.
He cited the failure to combine district heating for Dublin’s Docklands with the 1999 refitting the ESB’s Poolbeg power station to run on gas and the new Aghada gas-fired power station in Cork Harbour, which would soon be “heating fish instead of homes”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Michael Cosgrave, a director of the Cosgrave Group, told the National Housing Conference in Sligo yesterday that the current strategy was based on using “untested new technologies”.
He was strongly opposed to new building regulations currently being drafted because they would mean that “every new home must become an energy producer” – principally through using solar panels on the roof to provide hot water or electricity.
Mr Cosgrave said it would be impractical to apply the new regulations to apartment buildings as there would not be enough roof space to accommodate all the solar panels required – and there were more practical ways to reduce carbon emissions.
He cited the example of Lansdowne Gate, a Cosgrave Group scheme of 280 apartments in Drimnagh, Dublin, which had been designed to maximise solar gain, with high levels of insulation, heat recovery ventilation and a district heating system.
This system, “which only takes up the space of three parked cars”, was largely responsible for an annual saving of 72,000kg of CO2 and cut the heating bills for each apartment by €200 per year, achieving 98 per cent energy efficiency. Mr Cosgrave said every occupier had individual control over the amount of heat they used. But although the overall scheme had achieved a relatively high B1 building energy rating (BER), “if it was constructed today, it would be non-compliant”.
He said it was essential to change the BER rating system to cover entire apartment buildings, rather than just individual homes.
According to the developer, “we’re missing big opportunities [to reduce Ireland’s carbon emissions] while chasing little ones”. In his view, district heating fuelled by combined heat and power (CHP) plants should be much more widely used.
He cited the failure to combine district heating for Dublin’s Docklands with the 1999 refitting the ESB’s Poolbeg power station to run on gas and the new Aghada gas-fired power station in Cork Harbour, which would soon be “heating fish instead of homes”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Developer critical of zero-carbon housing strategy
MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley’s drive towards zero-carbon housing “will set us all running in the wrong direction and sentence generations to live with the consequences”, a leading property developer has warned.
Michael Cosgrave, a director of the Cosgrave Group, told the National Housing Conference in Sligo yesterday that the current strategy was based on using “untested new technologies”.
He was strongly opposed to new building regulations currently being drafted because they would mean that “every new home must become an energy producer” – principally through using solar panels on the roof to provide hot water or electricity.
Mr Cosgrave said it would be impractical to apply the new regulations to apartment buildings as there would not be enough roof space to accommodate all the solar panels required – and there were more practical ways to reduce carbon emissions.
He cited the example of Lansdowne Gate, a Cosgrave Group scheme of 280 apartments in Drimnagh, Dublin, which had been designed to maximise solar gain, with high levels of insulation, heat recovery ventilation and a district heating system.
This system, “which only takes up the space of three parked cars”, was largely responsible for an annual saving of 72,000kg of CO2 and cut the heating bills for each apartment by €200 per year, achieving 98 per cent energy efficiency. Mr Cosgrave said every occupier had individual control over the amount of heat they used. But although the overall scheme had achieved a relatively high B1 building energy rating (BER), “if it was constructed today, it would be non-compliant”.
He said it was essential to change the BER rating system to cover entire apartment buildings, rather than just individual homes.
According to the developer, “we’re missing big opportunities [to reduce Ireland’s carbon emissions] while chasing little ones”. In his view, district heating fuelled by combined heat and power (CHP) plants should be much more widely used.
He cited the failure to combine district heating for Dublin’s Docklands with the 1999 refitting the ESB’s Poolbeg power station to run on gas and the new Aghada gas-fired power station in Cork Harbour, which would soon be “heating fish instead of homes”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Michael Cosgrave, a director of the Cosgrave Group, told the National Housing Conference in Sligo yesterday that the current strategy was based on using “untested new technologies”.
He was strongly opposed to new building regulations currently being drafted because they would mean that “every new home must become an energy producer” – principally through using solar panels on the roof to provide hot water or electricity.
Mr Cosgrave said it would be impractical to apply the new regulations to apartment buildings as there would not be enough roof space to accommodate all the solar panels required – and there were more practical ways to reduce carbon emissions.
He cited the example of Lansdowne Gate, a Cosgrave Group scheme of 280 apartments in Drimnagh, Dublin, which had been designed to maximise solar gain, with high levels of insulation, heat recovery ventilation and a district heating system.
This system, “which only takes up the space of three parked cars”, was largely responsible for an annual saving of 72,000kg of CO2 and cut the heating bills for each apartment by €200 per year, achieving 98 per cent energy efficiency. Mr Cosgrave said every occupier had individual control over the amount of heat they used. But although the overall scheme had achieved a relatively high B1 building energy rating (BER), “if it was constructed today, it would be non-compliant”.
He said it was essential to change the BER rating system to cover entire apartment buildings, rather than just individual homes.
According to the developer, “we’re missing big opportunities [to reduce Ireland’s carbon emissions] while chasing little ones”. In his view, district heating fuelled by combined heat and power (CHP) plants should be much more widely used.
He cited the failure to combine district heating for Dublin’s Docklands with the 1999 refitting the ESB’s Poolbeg power station to run on gas and the new Aghada gas-fired power station in Cork Harbour, which would soon be “heating fish instead of homes”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Trinity College throws developers a lifeline
Developers with housing estates lying empty in Dublin are set for a huge fillip. Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has circulated a requirement for 1,000 student residential units by September 2010, and possibly as many as 3,500 by 2020.
The student residences and associated facilities must be close to the university "or near a public transport system facilitating a maximum commute of approximately 30 minutes", according to documents circulated by the university last week. That means areas as far away as Sandyford and Dun Laoghaire in the south of Dublin and Howth in the north could be considered because of the Luas and the Dart. Large parts of the docklands and Poolbeg would also be suitable.
"The accommodation may be new purpose-built or existing accommodation, modified if necessary, to satisfy the university's requirements," the documents state. Undeveloped sites will also be considered.
"They could possibly get the residences for below build cost," one expert said last week, citing the fall in property values, the number of residential developments lying vacant and some developers' desperate need for working capital.
Consultants Bruce Shaw are handling the process for the university and TCD has said the contract for the chosen sites "will include any required design and other services necessary for its procurement and may also include options for full operation and/or financing".
A contract notice relating to the need for the student accommodation is expected to be published in the second quarter of this year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The student residences and associated facilities must be close to the university "or near a public transport system facilitating a maximum commute of approximately 30 minutes", according to documents circulated by the university last week. That means areas as far away as Sandyford and Dun Laoghaire in the south of Dublin and Howth in the north could be considered because of the Luas and the Dart. Large parts of the docklands and Poolbeg would also be suitable.
"The accommodation may be new purpose-built or existing accommodation, modified if necessary, to satisfy the university's requirements," the documents state. Undeveloped sites will also be considered.
"They could possibly get the residences for below build cost," one expert said last week, citing the fall in property values, the number of residential developments lying vacant and some developers' desperate need for working capital.
Consultants Bruce Shaw are handling the process for the university and TCD has said the contract for the chosen sites "will include any required design and other services necessary for its procurement and may also include options for full operation and/or financing".
A contract notice relating to the need for the student accommodation is expected to be published in the second quarter of this year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Vacant homes to be used for social welfare tenants
LOCAL AUTHORITIES are to be allowed to place social welfare tenants who are on housing waiting lists in thousands of vacant “affordable” homes under a new initiative.
There are almost 4,000 unsold affordable homes in housing estates and complexes in the hands of the State.
These were provided on foot of housing legislation which requires developers to set aside 20 per cent of new developments for affordable housing.
However, demand for these affordable homes has fallen due to the collapse in property prices.
Michael Finneran, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, said yesterday that a circular has been issued to city and county councils authorising them to examine alternative ways of using these vacant houses.
These include allocating homes to families on social housing waiting lists; transferring the homes to tenants who have been on rent supplement for more than 18 months; and selling them to local authority tenants.
“If the local authorities cannot sell these houses, I’ll certainly agree to other ways of disposing of them,” Mr Finneran told The Irish Times. “I don’t want the State to own vacant houses at a time when there are people on housing waiting lists.”
He said he was mindful of “swamping” an estate with tenants on social welfare, and would ensure there was a good social mix on estates, where possible.
“I’ll be guided by sustainable community principles.
“It’s important that we examine each development on a case-by-case basis,” Mr Finneran pointed out.
He said officials estimate there are at least 3,700 vacant affordable homes at present, but this figure is likely to rise to about 5,000 by the end of the year as more homes are completed.
Local authorities anticipate they will be able to sell a significant number of these houses, despite the state of the property market.
They say a rise in the amount which a person can borrow from the State to buy a house – which has been increased to €220,000 – will help those who are having difficulties getting mortgages from banks.
This attempt to use some of the State’s vacant housing stock for social purposes is the second initiative of its type this year.
Last February Mr Finneran announced a €20 million plan in which the Government will lease about 2,000 vacant houses in the private sector to people on local authority housing waiting lists.
The scheme would involve the Government leasing vacant houses from developers for a period of 10-20 years.
The move was criticised by some Opposition parties as an attempt to bail out developers, while others said the leasing arrangement represented poor value for money.
Labour’s housing spokesman Ciarán Lynch TD estimated that leasing the houses could end up costing the State up to €500,000 per house.
However, Mr Finneran yesterday insisted the scheme would offer value for money and represented a valuable opportunity to source homes for people and help to give a “leg up” to part of the construction industry.
He said there had been significant interest in the scheme from property developers.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
There are almost 4,000 unsold affordable homes in housing estates and complexes in the hands of the State.
These were provided on foot of housing legislation which requires developers to set aside 20 per cent of new developments for affordable housing.
However, demand for these affordable homes has fallen due to the collapse in property prices.
Michael Finneran, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, said yesterday that a circular has been issued to city and county councils authorising them to examine alternative ways of using these vacant houses.
These include allocating homes to families on social housing waiting lists; transferring the homes to tenants who have been on rent supplement for more than 18 months; and selling them to local authority tenants.
“If the local authorities cannot sell these houses, I’ll certainly agree to other ways of disposing of them,” Mr Finneran told The Irish Times. “I don’t want the State to own vacant houses at a time when there are people on housing waiting lists.”
He said he was mindful of “swamping” an estate with tenants on social welfare, and would ensure there was a good social mix on estates, where possible.
“I’ll be guided by sustainable community principles.
“It’s important that we examine each development on a case-by-case basis,” Mr Finneran pointed out.
He said officials estimate there are at least 3,700 vacant affordable homes at present, but this figure is likely to rise to about 5,000 by the end of the year as more homes are completed.
Local authorities anticipate they will be able to sell a significant number of these houses, despite the state of the property market.
They say a rise in the amount which a person can borrow from the State to buy a house – which has been increased to €220,000 – will help those who are having difficulties getting mortgages from banks.
This attempt to use some of the State’s vacant housing stock for social purposes is the second initiative of its type this year.
Last February Mr Finneran announced a €20 million plan in which the Government will lease about 2,000 vacant houses in the private sector to people on local authority housing waiting lists.
The scheme would involve the Government leasing vacant houses from developers for a period of 10-20 years.
The move was criticised by some Opposition parties as an attempt to bail out developers, while others said the leasing arrangement represented poor value for money.
Labour’s housing spokesman Ciarán Lynch TD estimated that leasing the houses could end up costing the State up to €500,000 per house.
However, Mr Finneran yesterday insisted the scheme would offer value for money and represented a valuable opportunity to source homes for people and help to give a “leg up” to part of the construction industry.
He said there had been significant interest in the scheme from property developers.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 13 February 2009
Number of homes built last year falls by one-third
DECLINES IN the housing market resulted in the construction of one-third fewer homes in 2008 than in 2007, according to figures which will be released today by the Department of the Environment.
Of the 51,724 houses built in 2008 more than one-third (34 per cent) were one-off houses, up from one-quarter in 2007. The proportion of apartments built held relatively steady – accounting for 25 per cent of completions in 2008 and 24.1 per cent in 2007.
The development of housing estates saw the biggest decline. The construction of housing schemes fell by 10 per cent as a proportion of the sector to 49 per cent. However, in absolute numbers 21,127 estate houses were built last year, down from 39,273 in 2007 – a fall of 46 per cent.
Some of the largest declines were in the Dublin commuter belt. In Fingal, the number of homes built fell by almost 55 per cent, from 4,725 to 2,149; south Dublin had a 46 per cent fall from 3,270 to 1,758. Kildare, Cavan and Laois also experienced large declines. In Kildare, the number of homes completed fell from 3,118 to 1,811, a decline of 42 per cent; in Cavan the numbers almost halved from 2,108 to 1,262; and in Laois there was a 47 per cent fall from 2,117 to 1,156.
The largest decline was in Longford. In 2007, 1,579 homes were built there. Last year that fell to just 584 – a decline of 63 per cent.
Nowhere escaped the decline in construction, but north Tipperary saw the least change with the number of residential completions falling from 1,041 to 978 – a fall of just over 6 per cent.
The figures will be formally published by the Minister of State for Housing Michael Finneran today. The fall in the demand for housing made now the ideal time to focus on the quality of house construction and housing for the less well-off, Mr Finneran said.
“While there is an easing off in housing activity, and recognising the difficulties currently facing the public finances, the Government is committed to focus on quality in the provision of housing and to addressing the housing needs of the less well-off in our society.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Of the 51,724 houses built in 2008 more than one-third (34 per cent) were one-off houses, up from one-quarter in 2007. The proportion of apartments built held relatively steady – accounting for 25 per cent of completions in 2008 and 24.1 per cent in 2007.
The development of housing estates saw the biggest decline. The construction of housing schemes fell by 10 per cent as a proportion of the sector to 49 per cent. However, in absolute numbers 21,127 estate houses were built last year, down from 39,273 in 2007 – a fall of 46 per cent.
Some of the largest declines were in the Dublin commuter belt. In Fingal, the number of homes built fell by almost 55 per cent, from 4,725 to 2,149; south Dublin had a 46 per cent fall from 3,270 to 1,758. Kildare, Cavan and Laois also experienced large declines. In Kildare, the number of homes completed fell from 3,118 to 1,811, a decline of 42 per cent; in Cavan the numbers almost halved from 2,108 to 1,262; and in Laois there was a 47 per cent fall from 2,117 to 1,156.
The largest decline was in Longford. In 2007, 1,579 homes were built there. Last year that fell to just 584 – a decline of 63 per cent.
Nowhere escaped the decline in construction, but north Tipperary saw the least change with the number of residential completions falling from 1,041 to 978 – a fall of just over 6 per cent.
The figures will be formally published by the Minister of State for Housing Michael Finneran today. The fall in the demand for housing made now the ideal time to focus on the quality of house construction and housing for the less well-off, Mr Finneran said.
“While there is an easing off in housing activity, and recognising the difficulties currently facing the public finances, the Government is committed to focus on quality in the provision of housing and to addressing the housing needs of the less well-off in our society.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
50,000 new homes lying empty in 'ghost' estates
AT LEAST 50,000 newly-built homes are lying empty in 'ghost' estates across the country because of the economic downturn.
Hard-pressed developers and estate agents are being forced to drop their asking prices by as much as 50pc in a desperate effort to shift unwanted homes dotted across the country.
An Irish Independent investigation has also found that hundreds of housing estates which should have been completed at least two years ago are still unfinished.
Figures from local authorities show that county councils will not take responsibility for maintaining roads and open spaces in at least 300 estates because they have not been finished to the standard required by the planning permission.
The glut of empty homes -- many built under tax break schemes -- shows the pressures now being faced by homebuilders in the economic downturn.
Warned
House completions are at their lowest level in years and builders are putting off starting new homes until the market improves.
Thousands of potential homebuyers have also been refused access to credit, with many others deciding not to buy in the hope that prices will fall further.
The Irish Independent has found:
l The situation is worst in the midlands, border counties and the west of Ireland. Many properties are in areas marketed as being close to Dublin and other major cities, but in fact are in rural areas.
l There is up to 12 months' supply of homes currently empty -- twice what would be expected in a 'normal' market.
l Rural villages, such as Rathcormac in Co Cork, are swamped with unsold real estate.
l One developer has slashed asking prices by 50pc in an effort to sell properties.
Earlier this month, a report by Goodbody Economic Consultations found that 50,000 units had been built but not sold. It estimated there was 19 months of supply of second-hand homes for sale in Ireland. It concluded there could be a vacant stock of homes in the country in the order of 100,000 units.
While estate agents say that the market favours buyers, the Construction Industry Federation has warned that further prices cuts were unlikely.
"Prices have reduced by 30pc, and there isn't much scope for more cuts. A lot depends on the return to normal financial arrangements," a spokesman said.
Friends of the Irish Environment director Tony Lowes said the glut of new homes had "virtually emptied" some rural villages. "This has produced a very strong social impact because people living in these villages find they have no neighbours any more," he said.
The situation was criticised by the Labour Party, which said the pace of development in rural areas was "never sustainable".
"These estates were built by developers who clearly set out to make a profit and the position has changed. There should be no intervention in the housing market in what we would see as a normalisation process," the party's housing spokesman Ciaran Lynch said yesterday.
"This is developer-led, it was never sustainable. There's a difference between building housing estates and building communities."
Meanwhile, new figures show thousands of people have shown interest in securing a Government-backed mortgage which allows people on salaries of at least €40,000 to borrow up to €285,000 -- a maximum of 92pc of the value of the property -- from local authorities.
In one week, 4,500 people visited the Homechoice Loan website, with 583 registering an interest in availing of the scheme.
Paul Melia, Stephen O'Farrell and Caitrina Cody
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Hard-pressed developers and estate agents are being forced to drop their asking prices by as much as 50pc in a desperate effort to shift unwanted homes dotted across the country.
An Irish Independent investigation has also found that hundreds of housing estates which should have been completed at least two years ago are still unfinished.
Figures from local authorities show that county councils will not take responsibility for maintaining roads and open spaces in at least 300 estates because they have not been finished to the standard required by the planning permission.
The glut of empty homes -- many built under tax break schemes -- shows the pressures now being faced by homebuilders in the economic downturn.
Warned
House completions are at their lowest level in years and builders are putting off starting new homes until the market improves.
Thousands of potential homebuyers have also been refused access to credit, with many others deciding not to buy in the hope that prices will fall further.
The Irish Independent has found:
l The situation is worst in the midlands, border counties and the west of Ireland. Many properties are in areas marketed as being close to Dublin and other major cities, but in fact are in rural areas.
l There is up to 12 months' supply of homes currently empty -- twice what would be expected in a 'normal' market.
l Rural villages, such as Rathcormac in Co Cork, are swamped with unsold real estate.
l One developer has slashed asking prices by 50pc in an effort to sell properties.
Earlier this month, a report by Goodbody Economic Consultations found that 50,000 units had been built but not sold. It estimated there was 19 months of supply of second-hand homes for sale in Ireland. It concluded there could be a vacant stock of homes in the country in the order of 100,000 units.
While estate agents say that the market favours buyers, the Construction Industry Federation has warned that further prices cuts were unlikely.
"Prices have reduced by 30pc, and there isn't much scope for more cuts. A lot depends on the return to normal financial arrangements," a spokesman said.
Friends of the Irish Environment director Tony Lowes said the glut of new homes had "virtually emptied" some rural villages. "This has produced a very strong social impact because people living in these villages find they have no neighbours any more," he said.
The situation was criticised by the Labour Party, which said the pace of development in rural areas was "never sustainable".
"These estates were built by developers who clearly set out to make a profit and the position has changed. There should be no intervention in the housing market in what we would see as a normalisation process," the party's housing spokesman Ciaran Lynch said yesterday.
"This is developer-led, it was never sustainable. There's a difference between building housing estates and building communities."
Meanwhile, new figures show thousands of people have shown interest in securing a Government-backed mortgage which allows people on salaries of at least €40,000 to borrow up to €285,000 -- a maximum of 92pc of the value of the property -- from local authorities.
In one week, 4,500 people visited the Homechoice Loan website, with 583 registering an interest in availing of the scheme.
Paul Melia, Stephen O'Farrell and Caitrina Cody
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
New planning and house building figures
THE NUMBER of houses being built across the State has hit a new low with construction starting on two-thirds fewer houses in the first nine months of this year than in the same period last year, according to the Department of the Environment.
The latest figures from the department show further declines in house prices nationally, but more particularly in Dublin, and a fall of more than 20 per cent in the number of home loans being approved by banks.
The fall-off in residential building is most noticeable in Dublin, where construction began on 5,079 houses and apartments in the first nine months of this year, a reduction of just under 50 per cent on the same period last year.
However the rate of decline, while smaller in numbers, is actually greater in parts of rural Ireland, with Roscommon experiencing an 80 per cent decline in new house registrations with just 68 houses built to the end of September this year.
House prices, figures for which are given for the first six months of the year, are also continuing to slide. The average price of a new house, according to the department, stood at €313,678 at the end of June last, a fall of 5.5 per cent on the same period last year.
Second-hand house prices had taken an even greater fall with houses costing €356,638, a 7.8 per cent drop on the first six months of 2007. However, the biggest falls were in Dublin.
The price of a new house in the capital was €390,544 at the end of June this year, a fall of 8.5 per cent. The drop in price in second-hand houses was greater still with a reduction of 10.3 per cent on the first six months of 2007, bringing prices at the end of June to €455,142.
Fewer mortgages are being approved. Lenders gave out 19,823 loans nationally, a drop of 21.4 per cent. The fall in house prices means that the value of these loans is lower with €5,529.5 million worth of loans approved, down 18.6 per cent on the first six months of 2007.
The number of houses ready for sale has declined, although not yet as dramatically as the numbers starting construction. House completions nationally were down just under 30 per cent on the first nine months of the year to 39,986.
However, more dramatic falls were found in the Co Dublin local authority areas of Fingal, where completions were down 60 per cent, and south Dublin, where the number of finished houses was 45 per cent lower than the first nine months of last year.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The latest figures from the department show further declines in house prices nationally, but more particularly in Dublin, and a fall of more than 20 per cent in the number of home loans being approved by banks.
The fall-off in residential building is most noticeable in Dublin, where construction began on 5,079 houses and apartments in the first nine months of this year, a reduction of just under 50 per cent on the same period last year.
However the rate of decline, while smaller in numbers, is actually greater in parts of rural Ireland, with Roscommon experiencing an 80 per cent decline in new house registrations with just 68 houses built to the end of September this year.
House prices, figures for which are given for the first six months of the year, are also continuing to slide. The average price of a new house, according to the department, stood at €313,678 at the end of June last, a fall of 5.5 per cent on the same period last year.
Second-hand house prices had taken an even greater fall with houses costing €356,638, a 7.8 per cent drop on the first six months of 2007. However, the biggest falls were in Dublin.
The price of a new house in the capital was €390,544 at the end of June this year, a fall of 8.5 per cent. The drop in price in second-hand houses was greater still with a reduction of 10.3 per cent on the first six months of 2007, bringing prices at the end of June to €455,142.
Fewer mortgages are being approved. Lenders gave out 19,823 loans nationally, a drop of 21.4 per cent. The fall in house prices means that the value of these loans is lower with €5,529.5 million worth of loans approved, down 18.6 per cent on the first six months of 2007.
The number of houses ready for sale has declined, although not yet as dramatically as the numbers starting construction. House completions nationally were down just under 30 per cent on the first nine months of the year to 39,986.
However, more dramatic falls were found in the Co Dublin local authority areas of Fingal, where completions were down 60 per cent, and south Dublin, where the number of finished houses was 45 per cent lower than the first nine months of last year.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Boston may hold answer to city's housing woes
A delegation of Dublin City councillors and officials will travel to Boston next month with a view to radically redesigning the type of public housing the council provides in the capital.
The officials will view Harbor Point, a mixed-income rental complex mooted as the template to replace the aborted reconstruction agreements with developer Bernard McNamara in two of Dublin's public-private partnership projects. Both ran aground last May.
An invitation to visit the Harbor Point complex was extended to Dublin City Council by US developer Corcoran Jennison, which is jointly negotiating with Irish construction companies Bennett and Pierse, as the original under-bidders to McNamara, for the Dominick Street and St Michael's Estate projects.
Harbor Point, which was built in 1990, comprises 1,283 apartments occupied by both public and private tenants on an equal footing. Its $250m (€183m) redevelopment cost was financed by a package of private and public loans and private equity, including tax credits.
The complex is managed by elected residents and Corcoran Jennison, which is proposing the same equal-status rental blueprint for Dublin.
Final proposals for the redevelopment of St Michael's Estate and Dominick Street were submitted to Dublin City Council by Bennett/Corcoran Jennison and Pierse/Corcoran Jennison on Friday 10 October.
"We intend to visit their projects as part of our examination of delivering social and affordable housing in the five (PPP) projects and in the wider sense of delivering social and affordable housing throughout the city," according to a statement from Dublin City Council.
Plans for O'Devaney Gardens beside the Phoenix Park, where four blocks of flats are due to be demolished imminently, have, however, been scrapped.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The officials will view Harbor Point, a mixed-income rental complex mooted as the template to replace the aborted reconstruction agreements with developer Bernard McNamara in two of Dublin's public-private partnership projects. Both ran aground last May.
An invitation to visit the Harbor Point complex was extended to Dublin City Council by US developer Corcoran Jennison, which is jointly negotiating with Irish construction companies Bennett and Pierse, as the original under-bidders to McNamara, for the Dominick Street and St Michael's Estate projects.
Harbor Point, which was built in 1990, comprises 1,283 apartments occupied by both public and private tenants on an equal footing. Its $250m (€183m) redevelopment cost was financed by a package of private and public loans and private equity, including tax credits.
The complex is managed by elected residents and Corcoran Jennison, which is proposing the same equal-status rental blueprint for Dublin.
Final proposals for the redevelopment of St Michael's Estate and Dominick Street were submitted to Dublin City Council by Bennett/Corcoran Jennison and Pierse/Corcoran Jennison on Friday 10 October.
"We intend to visit their projects as part of our examination of delivering social and affordable housing in the five (PPP) projects and in the wider sense of delivering social and affordable housing throughout the city," according to a statement from Dublin City Council.
Plans for O'Devaney Gardens beside the Phoenix Park, where four blocks of flats are due to be demolished imminently, have, however, been scrapped.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Housing starts drop below 10,000 since start of year
Housing starts declined to fewer than 10,000 in the first eight months of the year, according to the Department of the Environment’s latest housing statistics.
Just 9,981 housing starts have been registered since the start of the year, a two-thirds drop from the 30,000 units for the same period last year. Housing starts are those registered with Homebond and give an indication of the level of construction set to get under way.
In Dublin, housing starts were recorded at just over 3,400, a 55 per cent fall on the same period in 2007. In the greater Dublin area, registrations were down by almost 60 per cent to 4,400 units in the first eight months of this year.
The greater Dublin area includes Dublin city and county, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. Kildare suffered the greatest fall - 80 per cent - from 1,872 to 374.
The Department of the Environment also released housing completion figures which showed a drop of 28 per cent to 35,000 in the first eight months of the year.
Dublin house completions comprised around a fifth of the country’s total, at 7,900 units, while the greater Dublin area had more than 11,000 completions.
Both of these figures reflected about a 30 per cent decrease. About 78,000 units were completed last year - completions follow housing starts with a lag of about nine months, so the effect of the decline in starts in the first half of 2007 was not felt until the beginning of 2008.
The department’s figures show house completions for the first half of this year are now on a par with the 2002 figures. Unlike housing starts, housing completions data is based on the number of new dwellings connected by ESB Networks to the electricity supply board and so may not tally exactly with the local authority boundaries.
Some 11,000 of the 35,000 house completions to date are houses built by individuals, with the remaining units consisting of a mix of apartments and housing schemes.
Cork had the highest number of one-off house completions with 1,200 units , compared to 552 in Kerry, 289 in Wicklow and just 113 houses in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in Co Dublin.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Just 9,981 housing starts have been registered since the start of the year, a two-thirds drop from the 30,000 units for the same period last year. Housing starts are those registered with Homebond and give an indication of the level of construction set to get under way.
In Dublin, housing starts were recorded at just over 3,400, a 55 per cent fall on the same period in 2007. In the greater Dublin area, registrations were down by almost 60 per cent to 4,400 units in the first eight months of this year.
The greater Dublin area includes Dublin city and county, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. Kildare suffered the greatest fall - 80 per cent - from 1,872 to 374.
The Department of the Environment also released housing completion figures which showed a drop of 28 per cent to 35,000 in the first eight months of the year.
Dublin house completions comprised around a fifth of the country’s total, at 7,900 units, while the greater Dublin area had more than 11,000 completions.
Both of these figures reflected about a 30 per cent decrease. About 78,000 units were completed last year - completions follow housing starts with a lag of about nine months, so the effect of the decline in starts in the first half of 2007 was not felt until the beginning of 2008.
The department’s figures show house completions for the first half of this year are now on a par with the 2002 figures. Unlike housing starts, housing completions data is based on the number of new dwellings connected by ESB Networks to the electricity supply board and so may not tally exactly with the local authority boundaries.
Some 11,000 of the 35,000 house completions to date are houses built by individuals, with the remaining units consisting of a mix of apartments and housing schemes.
Cork had the highest number of one-off house completions with 1,200 units , compared to 552 in Kerry, 289 in Wicklow and just 113 houses in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in Co Dublin.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Local authorities to offer low paid €300k mortgages
LOCAL authorities are to be allowed to grant mortgages of close to €300,000 to those on low pay and unable to get home loans from banks.
Under the scheme, borrowing limits will be increased from the current €185,000 figure to “just under €300,000”, if the cabinet gives final approval.
Environment Minister John Gormley, whose department has responsibility for housing, presented a memo on the issue to the cabinet yesterday. While final figures have yet to be confirmed, spokespersons said there was agreement in principle to the plan, which will likely be announced in tandem with the budget.
The size of the increase in borrowing limits may prompt claims that the Government is interfering with the property market. Several leading economists have called on the Government to allow the current correction in the market take its natural course, which would see prices continue to fall and come back into line for first-time buyers. The Government believes the proposal would not affect the correction. The source said the size of the increase would not serve to push up prices. Instead, it would assist those unable to get mortgages from banks because of the credit crunch.
This week, Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted the Government would not intervene to “artificially inflate” house prices. It would use Mr Gormley’s proposals instead.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Under the scheme, borrowing limits will be increased from the current €185,000 figure to “just under €300,000”, if the cabinet gives final approval.
Environment Minister John Gormley, whose department has responsibility for housing, presented a memo on the issue to the cabinet yesterday. While final figures have yet to be confirmed, spokespersons said there was agreement in principle to the plan, which will likely be announced in tandem with the budget.
The size of the increase in borrowing limits may prompt claims that the Government is interfering with the property market. Several leading economists have called on the Government to allow the current correction in the market take its natural course, which would see prices continue to fall and come back into line for first-time buyers. The Government believes the proposal would not affect the correction. The source said the size of the increase would not serve to push up prices. Instead, it would assist those unable to get mortgages from banks because of the credit crunch.
This week, Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted the Government would not intervene to “artificially inflate” house prices. It would use Mr Gormley’s proposals instead.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 26 July 2008
New housing bill to aid low income earners
Social welfare recipients and low income earners seeking to buy new houses could be given up to 60 per cent of the value of the property by the exchequer under the new Housing Bill published today by Minister for the Environment John Gormley.
The bill introduces a range of measures designed to encourage more people to buy houses and to improve the management of social housing by local authorities. However the long-awaited legislation to allow tenants to purchase their local authority flats has not been included in the bill.
The new Incremental Purchase Scheme will allow people who qualify for social housing and cannot afford to buy under the affordable housing scheme to get on the property ladder. Qualifying applicants will take out a mortgage for a percentage of the purchase price (likely to be around 40 per cent, although the terms have yet to be finalised) to buy a house from a local authority or voluntary housing body. The remaining stake in the house is gradually released to the buyer over the period of their mortgage.
Unlike the existing shared ownership scheme, which was also aimed at buyers who could not afford affordable housing, buyers pay no rent or any other charge to the council and are entitled to full ownership of the house on purchase of their share of the equity. The scheme will only apply to new-build houses offered through local authorities or voluntary and cooperative bodies.
Minister of State for Housing Michel Finneran said there had been a very poor take up of the shared ownership scheme.
“People obviously were’t particularly happy with the shared ownership scheme. We believe that this scheme will be more attractive and will give them an opportunity to get on the property ladder at a very early stage.”
It will also provide more money for social housing to be built, as people who would ordinarily be renting for extended periods will be providing fund to local authorities through their purchases.
However, because it applies to new houses only, the scheme will not be available to the thousands of local authority flat tenants, who, according to Dublin City Council, want to buy their homes.
A tenant-purchase scheme for flats was introduced by Dublin Corporation, now Dublin City Council, in 1988, but collapsed because of a lack of legislation to deal with issues such as the ownership and maintenance of common areas, such as stairwells and gardens, and the protection of residents who chose not to buy and remain tenants.
The council made several detailed proposals to the Department of the Environment for a sale of flats scheme and in January of last year the department said the legislation was being drafted. Last October the then housing minister Batt O’Keeffe said the legislation had been delayed because of legal issues raised by the Attorney General. Until recent weeks city councillors had expected the scheme would be included in the Housing Bill.
Mr Gormley said he regretted the sale of flats was not in the bill, but said legal issues such as building management and transfer of title could not be resolved in time for publication.
The bill offers some relief for owners of affordable housing who need to change mortgage terms. Previously any mortgage change, such as re-financing, triggered a “claw-back” requiring the owner to repay the discount received on their purchase. This anomaly has been removed, however families who have outgrown their affordable home still cannot up-size without triggering the claw-back.
The bill would give local authorities more powers to deal with housing issues such as anti-social behaviour, which was making people’s lives “unbearable” Mr Gormley said.
“I’ve been accused in the last few weeks of taking powers away from local authorities, what we’re doing here is empowering the councillors to draw up their own charter and decide how they proceed.”
Local authorities will be required to devise housing plans which comply with ministerial regulations and guidelines and national policies, rather than using individual systems developed by council’s on an “ad hoc” basis, Mr Gormley said.
Irishtimes.com
www.buckplanning.ie
The bill introduces a range of measures designed to encourage more people to buy houses and to improve the management of social housing by local authorities. However the long-awaited legislation to allow tenants to purchase their local authority flats has not been included in the bill.
The new Incremental Purchase Scheme will allow people who qualify for social housing and cannot afford to buy under the affordable housing scheme to get on the property ladder. Qualifying applicants will take out a mortgage for a percentage of the purchase price (likely to be around 40 per cent, although the terms have yet to be finalised) to buy a house from a local authority or voluntary housing body. The remaining stake in the house is gradually released to the buyer over the period of their mortgage.
Unlike the existing shared ownership scheme, which was also aimed at buyers who could not afford affordable housing, buyers pay no rent or any other charge to the council and are entitled to full ownership of the house on purchase of their share of the equity. The scheme will only apply to new-build houses offered through local authorities or voluntary and cooperative bodies.
Minister of State for Housing Michel Finneran said there had been a very poor take up of the shared ownership scheme.
“People obviously were’t particularly happy with the shared ownership scheme. We believe that this scheme will be more attractive and will give them an opportunity to get on the property ladder at a very early stage.”
It will also provide more money for social housing to be built, as people who would ordinarily be renting for extended periods will be providing fund to local authorities through their purchases.
However, because it applies to new houses only, the scheme will not be available to the thousands of local authority flat tenants, who, according to Dublin City Council, want to buy their homes.
A tenant-purchase scheme for flats was introduced by Dublin Corporation, now Dublin City Council, in 1988, but collapsed because of a lack of legislation to deal with issues such as the ownership and maintenance of common areas, such as stairwells and gardens, and the protection of residents who chose not to buy and remain tenants.
The council made several detailed proposals to the Department of the Environment for a sale of flats scheme and in January of last year the department said the legislation was being drafted. Last October the then housing minister Batt O’Keeffe said the legislation had been delayed because of legal issues raised by the Attorney General. Until recent weeks city councillors had expected the scheme would be included in the Housing Bill.
Mr Gormley said he regretted the sale of flats was not in the bill, but said legal issues such as building management and transfer of title could not be resolved in time for publication.
The bill offers some relief for owners of affordable housing who need to change mortgage terms. Previously any mortgage change, such as re-financing, triggered a “claw-back” requiring the owner to repay the discount received on their purchase. This anomaly has been removed, however families who have outgrown their affordable home still cannot up-size without triggering the claw-back.
The bill would give local authorities more powers to deal with housing issues such as anti-social behaviour, which was making people’s lives “unbearable” Mr Gormley said.
“I’ve been accused in the last few weeks of taking powers away from local authorities, what we’re doing here is empowering the councillors to draw up their own charter and decide how they proceed.”
Local authorities will be required to devise housing plans which comply with ministerial regulations and guidelines and national policies, rather than using individual systems developed by council’s on an “ad hoc” basis, Mr Gormley said.
Irishtimes.com
www.buckplanning.ie
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