P lanning and Development Act, 2000 Implementation of Part V and Housing Strategies

1. Planning and Development Act, 2000Implementation of Part V and Housing Strategies Norita Griffin, Assistant Principal, Housing Supply Unit, Department of the Environment and Local Government.

2. Format of Presentation • Housing Strategies - position to date • Summary of social / affordable housing provisions being made • Implementation Manual • Key Implementation Issues

3. Housing Strategies - position to date • Act commenced on 1 November 2000 • Model Housing Strategy and Guidelines finalised and provided to local authorities in December • Seminars for local and regional authorities and An Bord Pleanála in January ‘01 • All housing strategies developed by end-July deadline • 4 Dublin authorities, Meath and Wicklow Co. Co.s have varied their development plans to incorporate their strategies • Remaining local authorities in process of varying development plans

4. Social/Affordable Housing Provisions • 33 strategies completed, of which, • 27 have made provision for the maximum amount of 20% • 1 has made provision for 17.5% - Laois • 5 have made provision for 15% - Cavan, Donegal, Fingal Co. Co., South Dublin Co. Co., and Offaly.

5. Implementation Manual • This manual will assist planning authorities, developers, architects, planners and others, in dealing with the main issues that may arise when implementing housing strategies and preparing agreements under Part V. • Many of the issues addressed in this document are transitional. • It should be read in conjunction with Part V (and other relevant Sections and Parts) of the Act and the Guidelines to Planning Authorities on Part V issued by this Department in December 2000 (Circular HS 4/00).

6. Implementation Manual (contd.) The implementation manual will not purport to be a legal interpretation of the relevant Sections of the Act or any of the Regulations made under it.

7. Key Implementation Issues Issues addressed under the following headings: • General planning issues • 2-year withering of permissions • Exemption certificates • Part V agreements for the provision of social/affordable housing • Transfer of land, sites or houses • Voluntary and Co-operative Housing Sector • Affordable housing

8. Key Implementation Issues General Planning Issues • From when can Part V conditions be applied? Section 96(4) of the Act contains provisions which require that an applicant must be afforded the opportunity to specify how s/he proposes to meet the requirements of the housing strategy in relation to the development for which permission is being sought. Such proposals must then be taken account of by the planning authority (PA) when granting permission for the development. Therefore, a condition in accordance with S96(2) can only be applied to applications for permission which are made after the incorporation of a housing strategy into the development plan.

9. General Planning Issues (contd.) • For the purposes of determining whether the objectives set out in the HS/Dplan apply in the case of appeals to the Board, what is the relevant date? The relevant date is the original date of lodgement of the application to the planning authority.

10. 2-year Withering of Permission • What applications/permissions does the 2-year withering provisions (Section 96(15)) apply to? A permission granted under Part IV of the Planning and Development Act, 1963, or under Part III of the Act on an application made after 25th August 1999 and to which Part V of the Act would have applied if the application had been made after the inclusion of a housing strategy in the development plan, shall cease to have effect on 31 December 2002 or on the expiry of a period of 2 years from the date of the grant of permission, whichever is the later.

11. 2-year Withering of Permission(contd.) • How will the PA keep track of the 2-year permissions and decide on whether the remainder of the development has been completed? It would be good practice for PAs to keep a record of permissions which will wither after 2 years, particularly in respect of larger developments, and arrange inspections at the end of the 2-year period. • How is the definition of “external walls” to be interpreted in the case of a multi-storey development? Completion of the external walls means completion of the external walls up to the roof.

12. Exemption Certificates • What developments are exempt from the social/affordable housing requirements of Part V? • S96(14) states the applications which are exempt from the social/affordable housing requirements of Part V. • In addition, S97(3), states that developments • consisting of the provision of 4 or fewer houses, or • for housing on land of 0.2 hectares or less will be exempt where an exemption certificate has been granted in respect of the development in accordance with S97.

13. Exemption Certificates (contd.) • When should the application for a cert. be made? The application should be made before an application for permission of this type is submitted to the PA. • What happens where a cert has not been applied for? Applicants who have submitted applications for permission, which are of a type specified in S97, should be advised that these applications are invalid and that they should submit their proposals to comply with a condition under S96(2) or an exemption certificate (or copy of an application for such a certificate)before the application for permission can be processed.

14. Exemption Certificates (contd.) • What details must be included in the application for a certificate? In accordance with S97(5), an application for a cert. must include a statutory declaration made by the applicant, including • details of the legal and beneficial ownership of the land; • identifying any persons with whom the applicant is acting in concert; • particulars of any interest the applicant (or any person with whom the applicant is acting in concert) has or had in any land in the immediate vicinity of the land. The new Planning Regulations will expand on the requirements for applications for certificates.

15. Exemption Certificates (contd.) • Are separate applications for permission by the same applicant for one-off houses on adjoining plots of land exempt from a Part V condition? As stated in S97(12)(b), a PA shall not grant an exemption certificate in relation to a development if the applicant, or any person with whom the applicant is acting in concert, has carried out, or has been granted permission to carry out, the aggregate of any development(s) consisting of the provision of more than 4 houses or for housing on land of more than 0.2 ha, within 400m, not earlier than 5 years before the date of application (this rule begins on 1 November 2001).

16. Part V Agreements for the Provision of Social/Affordable Housing • How much detail regarding a proposed agreement under Part V should the applicant provide with the planning application? An applicant must submit (in addition to the normal plans and particulars) a proposal to transfer either land, serviced sites, or completed units and the allocation between social and affordable housing. It is open to the applicant to propose a number of options for meeting the Part V requirement. It is desirable that options will have been decided at the pre-planning discussions and before the planning application is lodged.

17. Part V Agreements for the Provision of Social/Affordable Housing (contd.) • Should the grant of planning permission be deferred pending an agreement on social/affordable housing? The agreement must be finalised before development commences. The objective must be to finalise the agreement at the latest within 8 weeks of the grant of permissionas it is of critical importance that completion of the agreement should not delay the start of housing development. From a planning point of view it is important that the physical shape of the development proposed and boundaries of land/sites due to be transferred be finalised. More detail in Section 10 of the Guidelines.

18. Part V Agreements for the Provision of Social/Affordable Housing (contd.) • What happens if the applicant does not include a Part V proposal with the planning application? An application without a proposal/agreement regarding the housing strategy provisions is invalid and should be treated as such. New Planning Regulations will outline the procedural aspects to deal with this issue. • Do agreements stay with the permission or do they stay with the property? Agreements stay with permissions. A new agreement should be made for a subsequent application.

19. Transfer of Land,Sites or Dwelling Units • On what basis will the cost of a house/site transferred to a planning authority be calculated?S96(3) - in the case of the transfer of sites [and houses], the price to be paid will be based on the land costs [and the building] and the attributable development costs. Details in Section 15 of the Guidelines. More specifically - gross floor area, reasonable profit, site costs, sub/super structure costs, external works and site development works costs, VAT on building costs & design team fees, planning authority fees/charges/development contributions, capital contributions etc.

20. Transfer of Land/Sites/Units(contd.) • What details will be available on how transferred land is to be developed by the PA when an agreement is being negotiated? A plan for how transferred land is to be developed, insofar as it is known, should be outlined to the developer when making an agreement (Section 10.5 of the Guidelines). The general description of the proposed development would include for example, the layout in relation to the rest of the development, number and size of units (e.g. 1-bed etc., 1-storey, etc., semi-detached etc.), outline of proposed finish (e.g. brick etc.) and possible timetable for construction.

21. Transfer of Land/Sites/Units(contd.) • Is the transfer of units off site by the developer in order to meet his obligations under Part V acceptable? No - a Part V agreement relates to the planning application for a particular site. If the PA, or the Board on appeal, consider that an agreement cannot be made because of the size, shape or other attributes of a site, planning permission can be made subject to payment by the developer of an amount equivalent in value to the transfer of land to the PA. Exceptions rather than the norm.

22. Voluntary and Co-operative Housing Sector • How should the housing association be selected? The selection of the housing association will depend on what is to be transferred to the local authority, i.e. land or sites. If a local authority proposes to involve a housing association in land transferred to the authority under Part V, it would seem to be a matter for the authority itself which association to involve. Where sites/houses are proposed to be transferred on foot of an agreement, the planning authority should have regard to the views of the developer.

23. Voluntary and Co-operative Sector(contd.) • What criteria should be taken into account when selecting the housing association? The selection should be based on general suitability taking account of local circumstances, experience, expertise and the capacity of voluntary body. In the case of special needs projects, local community bodies operating in the area should be considered. • When should the voluntary body get involved? At the earliest possible stage - pre-planning discussions if possible.

24. Affordable Housing • Who qualifies for Part V affordable housing? The Act provides that affordable housing may be sold or leased to eligible persons - i.e. a person"who is in need of accommodation and whose income would not be adequate to meet the payments on a mortgage for the purchase of a house to meet his or her accommodation needs because the payments calculated over the course of a year would exceed 35% of that person's annualincome" after income tax and PRSI are deducted.Eligibility is to be determined when an application is submitted to the PA and reviewed when allocation of a house is to be made.

25. Affordable Housing (contd.) • How will affordable housing under Part V be allocated? A separate application list should be established for affordable housing to be provided under Part V (Circular HS 10/01). • How will the clawback provision apply? The clawback applies to the resale of houses provided to purchasers at a discount from market value. If a house is resold within 10 years, the percentage of the sale price discounted by the local authority would be payable to them on the proceeds of the resale. The amount payable is reduced by 10% for each complete year after the 10th year of occupation.

26. Overview of Presentation • Housing Strategies - position to date • Summary of social / affordable housing provisions being made  • Implementation Manual  • Key Implementation Issues