Usually the property market news starts to slow at this time of the year, with a distinct year-end, wrap-up tone shining as positive a light as possible. Not so, this year. Earlier this week the Irish Property Owners’ Association (IPOA) attended before the joint Oireachtas committee on housing, which was conducting pre-legislative scrutiny of the…

The recent challenges faced by An Bord Pleanála have led to significant disruptions to housing delivery; this will not come as news to anyone reading this today. Over the past week, The Irish Times has taken a deep dive into the consequences and real market impacts of the chaos that originated from governance issues, culminating in a…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…