Development levy waiver must be extended to accelerate new home builds – Cummins

The temporary waiver of development levies and the refund of Uisce Éireann water and wastewater connection charges must be extended to further boost the supply of new housing stock, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Fine Gael Housing Spokesperson John Cummins said that a decision needs to be made quickly by Minister O’Brien and government, as the waiver and refund scheme, which was first introduced in April 2023, is due to expire next month.

“Since last year, builders of new-build homes have not been required to pay development levies to local authorities for new build homes. Instead, the local authority invoices the amount of the levy to the Government, who refund it back to the local authority. In addition, water and wastewater connection charges levied by Uisce Éireann are refunded to the developer when valid commencement notices are issued,” Senator Cummins explained.

“The waiver and refund scheme have proven immensely effective, as evidenced by the increase of commencements by 21% in 2023 to over 32,800 housing units. Even more encouraging is the data over the past 3 months which clearly indicates an even greater ramp up by the sector:

• 3357 housing units were commenced in January.
• 3167 housing units were commenced in December
• 3087 housing units were commenced in November

“If this pace is to continue, we can project the commencement of 38,000 units by the end of this year which obviously feeds through to completion statistics in 2024 and 2025,” Senator Cummins continued.

“In addition to extending the waiver and refund scheme, I believe there needs to be a limited extension of the properties that are covered. The failure to include ‘change of use’ or vacant/derelict properties being brought back into productive use for housing is a glaring anomaly. I previously argued successfully for former vacant pubs to be exempt from needing planning permission when being converted into residential units.

“To the end of 2022, 2235 housing units have been delivered in former commercial premises and it seems logical to me that the development levy waiver and Uisce Éireann refund scheme would be extended to these properties as they often face significant viability issues.

“Government action to activate the delivery of more homes is working, however we need to guard the progress that is being made and ensure the upward trajectory continues. The deadline for the expiration of this temporary measure is fast approaching –the Housing Minister must take stock of the units that came on the market as a direct result of this measure and take decisive action to safe-guard this crucial stream of supply.”