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Ireland’s New Planning and Development Bill 2023

Earlier this year the Cabinet approved the Planning and Development Bill 2023 and, this week, the Government published the latest draft of the Bill, which is the third largest piece of legislation in the history of the Irish State. The Business Post has published a helpful ‘explainer’ article about this. The new Planning and Development Bill 2023…

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Social Value: As CSR morphs into ESG, the social component of development cannot fall short 

Most recent reports indicate a noticeable decline in construction activity, marking the fourth consecutive month of downturn. According to the Construction Total Activity Index, the number of residential units under construction in October has dipped. While a slowdown in residential activity seems surprising given the continued growth in housing commencements and completions this year, according…

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The IMF’s Call to Abandon Rent Caps

A Path to a Healthier Irish Rental Market Recently, a senior planning official described the ongoing situation in Ireland as “not a housing crisis”, but rather “affordability crisis”. He was right, sort of…  Yes, Ireland has an affordability crisis, but that persistent lack of affordability is dampening the delivery of new supply, resulting in a…

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Unleashing Potential: A Strategic Call for Home Building in Ireland’s Regional Cities and Towns

It is becoming increasingly clear that Ireland’s regional cities and towns hold untapped potential for tackling our current housing crisis – although our ‘housing crisis’ is emerging as more of an ‘affordability crisis’ right now. The call for strategically-located residential development has never been louder, and there is a clear and significant opportunity for homebuilders…

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RZLT Challenges and New Landlord/Tenant Rules

The controversial Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is proving to be a bigger headache for the State than previously expected, with Dublin City University (DCU) amongst the latest landowners to challenge findings by An Bord Pleanála that their properties are liable for the new tax, which is set to come into force in 2025.  The…

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Ireland’s New Planning and Development Bill

What we know so far – promises and pitfalls Last month the Planning and Development Bill was approved by the Government. Long overdue, the industry was promised the most significant overhaul of the country’s planning system in decades. ‘Significant’ is a broad term. Yes, this is a large piece of legislation – the third largest…

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The Implications of Failed Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) Appeals 

While Budget 2024 commentary is dominating industry news this week, the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is high on the agenda here at Lotus HQ.  According to a report by The Irish Times this week, a significant majority of appeals against the new RZLT made by developers in Dublin have been dismissed by An Bord…

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Understanding Ireland’s Rising Construction Costs 

A Closer Look at Planning and Regulation The health of a nation’s housing system is inextricably linked to the cost of building new homes, and Ireland’s system, unfortunately, is feeling the strain. As Sean Keyes notes in his recent article on The Currency, Irish housing is in crisis, leading to increased rents, homelessness, and families…

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Addressing the Challenges in Ireland’s Housing Sector

An Urgent Call to Action Ireland’s housing delivery landscape, as depicted recently by Brendan McDonagh, the head of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), in the Irish Examiner, paints an unencouraging picture. The NAMA chief talks about his concerns about spiraling costs and procedural roadblocks that currently stand in the way of housing delivery, mainly…

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Unintended Consequences of the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT)

There is a particularly interesting article in the Irish Examiner today wherein property developer Michael O’Flynn warns of the likely ‘unintended consequence’ of the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) new land tax to increase the price of new homes for homebuyers – you can read the article in full here. As regular readers here will be…

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