Land, Planning and affordable housing

1. Land, Planning and affordable housing Dr. Declan Redmond Associate Professor of Housing and Planning University College Dublin

2. The critical importance of LAND • Land and Betterment • We have never tackled the political economy of land • Part V • Land Development Agency • Cost of land crucial in the production of affordable housing • The State and land ownership • Purchase at market value? • Purchase at use value? (Kenny Report; use value plus 25%)

3. Part V Planning Act 2000: Planning Gain and Betterment

4. Key Changes to legislation in 2015

5. Part v contribution to housing provision[2.4%]

6. Under Part V Local Authority pays the developer: Construction costs Existing Use Value of Land Builders Profit

7. Fast track and Part VBlackrock- part V proposal Indicative Costs (221 apartments in total) 22 Part V Apartments: €501,000 average proposed cost to Local Authority

8. Amending Part V? • Principle of Existing Use Value essential • Established by the Supreme Court • Why not 20% yield for Part V? • Why not Cost Rental and Part V on large sites? • Define Existing Use Value as ‘Agricultural Value’

9. LAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY – Launched Sept 2018 • Target is to Build 150,000 houses over twenty years • Assemble State owned lands • Assemble strategic land banks from state and private land • Give Long term stability to the housing market • Will deliver (minimums) • 10% social rented (Part V) • 30% affordable • 60% private LDA is not a version of the Kenny Report; so far there is no sense of the State acquiring land at use value

10. Taoiseach and minister An Taoiseach said: “The Land Development Agency, with capital of €1.25 billion behind it, is a step change in the Government’s involvement in the housing market. We are going to build new homes and lots of them. That includes social housing, affordable housing, private housing and cost rental housing on both publicly and privately owned land. To enable more delivery of social and affordable homes on public lands, the Government has, in parallel with the establishment of the LDA, approved a new affordability requirement in relation to publicly-owned lands, whereby a minimum of 30% of any housing developed must be reserved for affordable purposes in addition to the 10% statutory social housing requirement under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, whether such development is being progressed by the LDA or any other market operator. Minister Murphy Social Housing Additionality?

11. LAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Powers of LDA (a) acquire, purchase or take on lease any land or buildings and may sell, exchange, let or otherwise dispose of any land or buildings vested in the Agency; (b) take ownership of land, buildings and other property upon such trusts and conditions, if any, as may be specified by the donor • Formed on 13 September 2018 • Board of between 6 and 10 • Commercial state-sponsored body • Will be Capitalised to €1.25bn • Legislation in preparation

12. LDA Functions (Establishment Order) • development and regeneration of land and property, including structures, for the purposes of the delivery of housing and the achievement of wider physical, social and economic development and regeneration; • supporting the consolidation and replenishment of the publicly owned development land bank and expediting the most efficient use of such land; • establishing appropriate mechanisms and collaborative structures between public and private bodies to develop key strategic sites in public ownership; • creation of a database of public lands relevant to the functions of the Agency; • master-planning and development appraisal services; • securing development consents for relevant lands and development projects; • procurement of such technical, administrative or implementation activities as may be necessary; and • procurement of development, construction and evaluation services to deliver housing and wider urban regeneration and development projects.

13. What do we know? • Not too much… • Eight state-owned sites with capacity of 3000 dwellings • None with a usable planning permission • Affordability (not mentioned in the establishment order) • Moving to improving housing affordability, the LDA generally intends to drive this by increasing the supply of land that is available for development, providing visibility and transparency in the land market. This will help counter Ireland’s boom-bust cycle in land prices, which in turn determine housing affordability. (LDA, Oireachtas Committee, October 2018) • [Land supply does not guarantee affordability]

14. Delivery on State Owned lands ?? • Will land be purchased from other state bodies? [cost?] • Who will deliver the social housing? [local authorities; AHBs] • Who will deliver affordable housing? [rent or purchase?] • Delivery of Cost rental delivery? • Private Housing delivery? [on what model or basis?] • Sales at market value? • Beneficiaries ?

15. Delivery on Lands purchased privately? • Will non-residentially zoned land be purchased? • At what cost? [Existing Use Value] • Compulsory purchase? • Market price? • Will LA be directed to rezone land purchased by the LDA? • Will zoned land be purchased? • At market price?

17. Reflections • Part V has had a limited impact • But the EUV mechanism is important in principle • As is the Supreme court judgement on the common good and Part V • Land Development Agency • Too early to say • But many questions about • Delivery mechanisms • Affordable delivery • LDA not a version of the Kenny Report nor of UK Development Corporations