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Changes aim to cut costs of building apartments

The Department of Housing has published revised standards that it says are aimed at making it more viable to build apartments. 

Minister for Housing James Browne said that the new minimum standards compared favorably with European norms and would be implemented “without compromising on disability, fire regulations, or environmental requirements”. 

The Planning Design Standards for Apartments, Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2025) cover issues that include: 

• Apartment mix,
• Internal space standards for different types of apartments,
• Dual-aspect ratios,
• Floor-to-ceiling heights,
• Stair/lift core ratios,
• Storage spaces, and
• Amenity spaces – including balconies/patios. 

Supply 

The guidelines are being issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Under section 28, planning authorities and An Coimisiún Pleanála must have regard to ministerial guidelines in the performance of their functions. 

Minister Browne described the changes as “timely, given the urgent need to increase housing supply and to address the viability issues relating to the delivery of apartments”. 

He added that they would “likely result” in a reduction in building costs of an average of €50,000 and up to €100,000 per unit. 

Amendments to planning bill 

The proposed changes had already attracted criticism before publication, with Dublin City Council last night (7 July) passing an emergency motion critical of changes to the provision of communal and cultural spaces. 

The Government has also approved the minister’s plan to bring forward amendments to the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill to enable development schemes that currently benefit from planning permission, but have not been commenced, to be altered without the need for a new planning application. 

The standards state that, apart from some exceptions, “there shall be no minimum or maximum requirements for apartments with a certain number of bedrooms” in developments. 

Floor areas 

They also set out new minimum floor areas for various types of apartments, starting from 32 square metres for a one-person studio apartment.

A table provided by the department shows that the figures are roughly in line with Britain’s minimum standards for cities, though the studio figure is below Britain’s 37 square metres. 

The guidelines also say that the provision of new communal, community, and cultural facilities within apartment schemes “shall only be required in specific locations identified within the development plan and shall not be required on a blanket threshold-based approach in individual apartment schemes”. 

The guidelines also appear to rule out new co-living or shared-accommodation developments, saying that these “will not generally be permitted”.