A Single Approval Process for Social Housing

The Government’s plans to streamline social housing projects continue to progress with the Government announcing updates to the Single Approval Process for Social Housing Capital Projects. Our Construction, Infrastructure & Utilities team examines this announcement and the likely impact on Ireland's Built Environment sector.

What you need to know

• The Government has committed to the delivery of 72,000 new social homes by 2030, which would require an average of 12,000 new social homes per year.
• This is a significant increase on the average 8,000 social units per year currently being constructed.
• To achieve this, the Government intends to implement a series of measures designed to increase social housing supply, including a new standardised process.
• These measures intend to provide greater cost savings, transparency, efficiencies and certainty in the delivery of social housing projects.

The Irish Government previously committed to developing a simplified and standardised approval process for social housing projects to accelerate the delivery of critical housing.

Single Approval Process

The process will take the form of the "Single Approval Process for Social Housing Capital Projects". The traditional four stage and single stage approval processes for projects below €200 million will be replaced by this new unified process. It will remove the requirement for additional submissions for review and approval through the project lifecycle leading to more efficient Department sign-off on proposals.

The aim of this process is to provide a quicker, more predictable and cost-efficient process for Departmental approval. It also aims to further facilitate local authorities to progress social housing projects in a timely manner.

The process has been developed following consultation with local authorities and approved housing bodies so that the interests and observations of key stakeholders were taken into account when designing this new process.

Standardisation

The Single Approval Process also includes standardisations of unit types and specifications per the Department’s “Design Manual for Quality Housing” and the "Employer’s Requirements for Detail Design of Quality Housing” for all new build social housing. This is further designed to ensure value for money, and a drive towards standardisation across the social housing sector.

What next?

The Single Approval Process has come into effect and the substantive documents behind the Single Approval Process, including the guidance notice and process map, are due to be published shortly. These documents will provide further detail as to the specifics of this process and how it will work in practice.

Comment

The confirmation that the Single Approval Process is now in effect, with the supporting policy documents to follow shortly, marks an important milestone in reforming the social housing sector. A simplified and standardised approval process will benefit all major stakeholders, and will assist in meeting the Government’s ambitious social housing targets in the coming years.

For more information and expert advice, contact a member of our Construction, Infrastructure & Utilities team.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.