Webinar: Real Estate, Planning and Development – Reflections & Predictions

Ireland’s housing market has been experiencing a significant mismatch in supply and demand for some time now. We were delighted to be joined by guest speaker Pat Farrell, CEO, IIP, who focused on how we might break that cycle. We also considered key topics and trends including an overview of anticipated real estate legislative developments, with a focus on real estate tax updates in relation to the Finance Bill 2022. Our speakers reviewed key planning law updates in 2022 and potential changes going forward such as land value sharing and further changes to the judicial review system.

Speakers

• Pat Farrell, CEO, Irish Institutional Property (IIP)
• Áine Quigley, Partner, Mason Hayes & Curran
• Jay Sattin, Senior Associate, Mason Hayes & Curran

This webinar was chaired by Marcus Kennedy, Partner, Real Estate, Mason Hayes & Curran.

Poll Results

Our audience survey at this webinar revealed that 76% of Ireland’s property sector believe that Ireland must build 50,000 new homes per year to solve the housing crisis.

The survey also found that the majority (56%) believe the introduction of residential zoned land tax will disincentivise the hoarding of residential development land.

Áine Quigley, Partner, Mason Hayes & Curran, commented: “Residential zoned land tax was introduced by the Finance Act 2021 with a view to replacing the vacant site levy, and has the same aim – to encourage the early development of sites suitable for housing. Owners or others with development rights of relevant sites must either take steps to develop the land, or pay a tax of 3 per cent of the market value of the land.

Local authorities published draft maps identifying the relevant sites on November 1^st, and we expect a lot more discussion on this topic before the tax becomes payable in 2024.”

The event also discussed some key Government initiatives introduced as part of the ‘Housing for All’ plan, including Land Value Sharing Contributions.

Jay Sattin, Senior Associate, Mason Hayes & Curran said: “While as yet we don’t have the exact detail behind this legislation, the Government’s General Scheme agreed in 2021 provides an indication. Broadly speaking, Land Value Sharing means sharing up to 30% in the increase in the value of land which has been zoned residential or mixed-use including residential. Landowners will pay this sum as a condition of the grant of planning permission, with the levy to be used by the local authority for the provision of public infrastructure services in the area, such as recreational or community facilities.

If this contribution is higher than the developer’s current contributions this will clearly have an impact on viability and it may also present difficulties in terms of timing for planning applications, if – for example - the value of the land keeps increasing.”

Under the current legislation, the local authority has to take into account the estimated costs for providing that infrastructure when it is setting the rates for developers’ contributions.

When surveyed, 3 out of 4 (75%) of the audience said they believe a developer’s planning contribution towards ‘public infrastructure and facilities’ should be set according to the estimated cost of the infrastructure, as opposed to any uplift in land value from being zoned residential.

Read more in the Irish Times, Irish Legal News, Breaking News or the Law Society of Ireland Gazette.