Housing Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023

Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Questions (517)

Eoin Ó Broin

Question:

517. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average cost of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom social houses and one-, two-, and three-bedroom social apartments that were completed in 2022; and the average cost for the same set of units for tender contracts signed in 2022, in tabular form. [63756/22]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The relevant details are being compiled and will be provided to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.

My Department assesses, approves and records local authority social housing delivery on a project basis, rather than on the basis of individual unit types. As Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) funded construction projects by local authorities must, like all publicly-funded construction programmes, comply with the Public Spending Code and Capital Works Management Framework, my Department periodically issues Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) for each local authority area, for use as a key benchmark for the development and costing of scheme designs at capital appraisal stage. While not a record of actual delivery costs, UCCs are based on an analysis of returned data from tendered social housing schemes.

To monitor tender cost trends and to inform the UCCs levels, my Department analyses the tender data for the construction cost element of new build schemes approved under the SHIP four stage approval processes for each unit type, where sufficient information is available to allow such costs to be extrapolated and where the information available is appropriate for comparison purposes.

Outlined in the tables below are average construction costs (incl. VAT) per unit type, recorded as part of the aforementioned analysis for projects tendered in each of the years 2020 to 2021. The tables also set out the range of costs that make up this average for each unit type. The range of costs recorded vary, depending on design, location and on the level of abnormal requirements for each scheme, for instance existing site conditions, demolitions, service diversions and site access requirements. Abnormal costs are also separately identified in the tables below.

2020	Construction Costs (incl abnormals)		Abnormal Costs
Average Cost Per Unit €	Range of Costs per Unit €	Average Cost Per Unit €	Range of costs per unit €
1bed house	184,435	139k - 237k	24,949	3k - 46k
2bed house	193,665	129k - 263k	24,287	1k - 66k
3bed house	211,518	152k - 342k	24,602	1k - 66k
4bed house	262,311	205k - 321k	40,196	15k - 66k
1bed apartment	198,719	169k - 269k	22,875	24k - 54k
2bed apartment	230,691	198k - 306k	16,337	7k - 54k
3bed apartment	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

2021	Construction Costs (incl abnormals)		Abnormal Costs
Average Cost Per Unit €	Range of Costs per Unit €	Average Cost Per Unit €	Range of costs per unit €
1bed house	180,375	143k - 234k	21,499	7k - 41k
2bed house	235,253	144k - 347k	29,893	6k - 64k
3bed house	248,105	162k - 427k	25,860	4k - 68k
4bed house	302,311	190k - 457k	33,302	11k - 44k
1bed apartment	212,765	179k - 276k	40,557	30k - 58k
2bed apartment	244,296	187k - 325k	43,113	34k - 64k
3bed apartment	306,096	302k - 312k	50,451	46k - 58k

2022	Construction Costs (incl abnormals)		Abnormal Costs
Average Cost Per Unit €	Range of Costs per Unit €	Average Cost Per Unit €	Range of costs per unit €
1bed house	251,604	144k - 311k	26,924	14k - 67k
2bed house	265,796	169k - 375k	33,581	8k - 67k
3bed house	317,667	205k - 429k	36,646	12k - 70k
4bed house	339,046	252k - 432k	31,360	21k - 50k
1bed apartment	246,302	198k - 363k	28,667	15k - 62k
2bed apartment	304,030	177k - 369k	30,073	9k - 62k
3bed apartment	410,417	268k - 451k	43,686	30k - 48k

* Construction Costs as shown, are derived from unit cost analysis and capture the construction cost element only, incl. abnormals (i.e. not all-in costs)

The above costs relate to the construction element of the all-in delivery cost. Other items that make up the all-in total include:

- Design/technical fees : Design fees vary from project to project, depending on the location, size and complexity of a scheme (and depending on whether design services are provided by a local authority in-house or via external appointment). As a guideline/indicator, design fee are generally expected to range between 7.5% to 12.5% of construction costs.

- Land cost : Land costs will vary significantly from project to project, depending on location and ownership status (i.e. land costs could vary from existing local authority land at no cost to land purchased at market value).

- Utilities : Connection fees for Irish Water, ESB, gas, etc. As a guideline/indicator, utility connection costs are generally in the order of €7k per unit.

- Other Costs : Other items that make up the all-in delivery cost can include site investigations/surveys, archaeological requirements, Percent for Art contributions - and will vary from scheme to scheme.

It is understood by all involved in advancing social housing projects that a range of factors can impact on the costs for individual projects. Project-specific issues will always arise and will be central to how a project can be advanced and the costs for same. These factors are part of the regular engagement that happens between my Department and local authorities/AHBs which is focussed on facilitating the earliest possible delivery of new social homes that are both high quality and value for money. To that end, as well as sharing UCCs with local authorities, my Department has previously shared outline specifications for new social housing and has also recently issued a new 'Design Manual' which will guide local authorities, AHBs and their Design Teams/consultants, on the design of social housing site layouts and the internal layouts of individual social homes. These recent initiatives are important in the work to improve the quality, cost-effectiveness and pace of delivery of social homes and I look forward to continuing our work with our delivery partners to take advantage of these opportunities.