Land Development Agency to spend €9m on professional services

Earlier this year, the Land Development Agency said there is the potential to build up to 67,000 homes on State-owned land across Ireland, but that less than 10,000 of those could be delivered within the next decade. File picture

The State body with responsibility for unlocking land for public housing is to spend €9m on recruiting professional services for the end administration of its housing delivery.

The Land Development Agency has requested tenders from professional bodies for the provision of such services in eight areas around the country: Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow.

Those services involve all facets of residential tenancy delivery—from property rental valuation to tenancy set-up to property and facilities management, the LDA said.

Chosen contractors would be expected to market the various lettings, collect rent and manage debt collections, and fulfil all obligations regarding the Residential Tenancies Board. The contract would further involve the maintenance and security of vacant lands not currently under development.

The LDA’s tender is split into four lots—letting, property management, facilities management, and estates—with six contractors expected to fill each on a four-year contract, the LDA said.

The tender is the latest move in a ramping-up of activity on the part of the agency, first formed in September 2018, with the goal of expediting housing delivery by unlocking public land for development.

Last week, the LDA announced for the first time that it would seek expressions of interest from landowners with the aim of the agency purchasing privately-owned land for the delivery of affordable housing—in particular larger sites with existing planning permission for the delivery of 200 homes or more.

That strategy is to initially focus on large sites that could be utilised for the construction of higher-density housing projects in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, the agency said.

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The LDA's chief executive John Coleman said at the time that the LDA would seek to “maximise every opportunity to deliver affordable housing”.

“As we continue to grow and maintain a steady pipeline of affordable housing, it makes sense to also look at potential opportunities involving the outright purchase of privately-owned land and we are now seeking expressions of interest from landowners in this regard,” he said.

The LDA said it is currently in the process of delivering 5,000 homes on State land and a further 5,000 through the Project Tosaigh initiative, first launched in 2021 and aimed at expediting the development of land with valid planning permission which has nevertheless gone undeveloped to date.

Earlier this year, the LDA said there is the potential to build up to 67,000 homes on State-owned land across Ireland, but that less than 10,000 of those could be delivered within the next decade, while that delivery would be contingent on the lands being “released quickly for development”.