Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
829. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the recent revelation that an estate built-to-sell originally has been bought by a company which is now charging rents of €3,000 per month (details supplied) excluding first-time buyers completely from the market; and what action he will take in this regard, if any, to prevent this from happening. [1663/24]
View answer843. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps he is taking to ensure that the bulk purchase of homes that were supposed to be available to individual buyers (details supplied) will not happen again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1884/24]
View answer844. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce legislation to prevent investment funds from bulk purchasing homes in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1885/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 829, 843 and 844 together.
Under Housing Policy Objective 1.10 of 'Housing for All', the Government committed to introducing an ‘owner-occupier' guarantee to enable local authorities specify the proportion of houses and duplexes in a development for owner-occupiers. To this end, measures were introduced by Government in May 2021 to disincentivise and prohibit the bulk buying of such properties.
The measures included a higher 10% stamp duty levy on cumulative purchase of 10 or more residential properties, excluding apartments, in a 12-month period to disincentivise the bulk purchase of homes by institutional investors.
At the same time, Section 28 Guidelines for Planning Authorities 'Regulation of Commercial Institutional Investment in Housing' effectively introduced an ‘owner-occupier’ guarantee by ensuring new ‘own-door’ houses and duplex units in housing developments could no longer be bulk-purchased by institutional investors in a manner that displaces individual purchasers or social and affordable housing.
The guidelines provide for a form of condition to be inserted in applicable new planning permissions requiring all houses to be made available for sale and first occupation by separate, individual households for a period of years after completion (only applicable to houses and duplex units in mixed developments and not apartments).
Complementary measures were also introduced via the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act 2021, which provides that local authorities must ensure home ownership as a tenure type is provided for and estimated in their respective housing strategies. To this end, the Act introduces the principle of home ownership as a specific tenure type in a local authority housing strategy, with particular regard to developments of houses and duplexes, and gives further legislative effect to the Section 28 Guidelines issued in 2021.
I am satisfied the planning measures introduced in 2021 have been effective, with some 39,900 homes granted planning permission with conditions prohibiting the bulk purchase by, or multiple sale to, a single purchaser between May 2021 and December 2023. However, these measures cannot be applied retrospectively and would not have applied to the purchase of units in the development referenced, which records show received initial and subsequent planning approvals before the measures were introduced in 2021.
The suggestions that institutional investors are crowding out prospective owner-occupiers are not borne out by official data, which show institutional investors still comprise a relatively small proportion of residential properties purchased annually. In this context, and given the scale of new residential properties ring-fenced for owner-occupiers, I am satisfied that the actions which this Government have put in place have been effective and further change is not necessary at this time.
