Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 May 2023
137. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated per year cost of planned Part V purchases under Housing for All; the projected cost per unit for one-, two-, three- and four-bed homes; the number planned to be purchased for each year, broken down by local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23513/23]
View answer138. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated construction cost of building one-, two-, three- and four-bed homes on local authority land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23514/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 138 together.
Housing for All, is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes and 54,000 affordable homes by 2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.
Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing.
A key action of Housing for All required local authorities to develop Housing Delivery Action Plans to include details of social and affordable housing delivery. The Plans set out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. In preparing the Plans, local authorities were required to include of the locations and delivery streams for social housing schemes, including estimated Part V delivery. The Plans have been published on the local authorities own websites.
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 Basic Unit Costs (previously referred to as Unit Cost Ceilings) 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, BUCs are based on an analysis of returned data from tendered social housing schemes.
To monitor tender cost trends and to inform the BUCs 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 2022 (and 2023 to date). 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 (e.g. existing site conditions, demolitions, service diversions and site access requirements). Abnormal costs are also separately identified in the tables below.
|
2022 and 2023 to date |
Construction Costs (incl. abnormals) |
Abnormal Costs |
||
|
Average Cost Per Unit € |
Average Cost per Unit € |
Range of Costs Per Unit € |
Average Cost per unit € |
|
|
1bed house |
254,292 |
144k - 311k |
29,751 |
11k - 67k |
|
2bed house |
277,059 |
169k - 384k |
37,975 |
8k - 67k |
|
3bed house |
323,497 |
205k - 429k |
40,312 |
12k - 70k |
|
4bed house |
346,847 |
252k - 432k |
35,384 |
21k - 50k |
|
1bed apartment |
309,950 |
198k - 384k |
36,784 |
15k - 62k |
|
2bed apartment |
304,722 |
177k - 531k |
33,711 |
9k - 64k |
|
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 BUCs 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.
Agreement on Part V arrangements is a matter for the local authorities. Complete details of Part V arrangements to be delivered under Housing for All will be available from the individual local authorities.
