Major changes planned for apartment building with aim of reducing costs

Minister for Housing, James Browne, is to bring 'viability' measures to Cabinet this week which will also remove requirements around the mix of apartments in private developments.

The minimum size of apartments is to be reduced under major changes to building rules aimed at bringing the cost of construction down by up to €100,000 per unit.

Housing minister James Browne is to bring 'viability' measures to Cabinet this week which will also remove requirements around the mix of apartments in private developments.

Current rules limit the number of one-bed apartments to 50% of a development and some local authorities have imposed minimum requirements for three-bedroom apartments within their development plans.

Mr Browne believes that this is impacting the delivery cost of apartment schemes and that the mix may not support the best outcomes in terms of the need in many city centres.

The new guidelines, expected to be approved when ministers meet on Tuesday, will reduce the minimum size of studio apartments to 32 sq m, down from the current 37 sq m requirement, and will also introduce a new standard for a three-bedroom four-person apartment of 76 sq m.

The proposed changes, when compared to the current guidelines, are expected to bring down construction costs by between €50,000 and €100,000 per apartment.

It is hoped that the relaxed rules will encourage developers to kick-start new projects, with Mr Browne venting frustration over the drying up of apartment building particularly in Dublin where it is most urgently needed for a rising population.

The new size guidelines will see no change to one-bedroom two-person units; two-bedroom four-person units; or three-bedroom five-person unit minimum sizes, which are already set out in the current guidelines.

The current guidelines require at least 33% dual aspect units in urban locations and 50% in suburban locations to be ‘dual aspect’. This will change to create a single standard of 25%, which aims to create greater certainty and allow for increased standardisation in building design and flexibility.

There will also be changes to the number of lifts that must be put into buildings. The current guidelines limit the number of units that can be provided per lift core to a maximum of 12 units.

The new guidelines remove any limitation on the number of units per lift and stair core per floor, subject to compliance with building regulations.

However, the minister has stressed that there will be no downgrading to fire standards, accessibility standards, or key environmental standards.