Developers Beware! As property development picks up, what do your Part V Planning Obligations involve?

What is Part V?

Part V was introduced to seek to provide for social and affordable housing needs. At the time of lodging a planning application an applicant must indicate, as part of the application, how it intends to comply with its Part V obligations. In practice, agreement on the make up of such obligations can involve negotiations between an applicant and a Local Authority.

Law

Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, entitled “Housing Supply”, (“the 2000 Act”) was amended under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 (“the 2015 Act”), which came into force on the 1 September 2015.

By way of overview section 94 (1)(a) of the 2000 Act, entitled “Housing Strategies” states:-

“Each planning authority shall include in any development plan it makes in accordance with section 12 a strategy for the purpose of ensuring that the proper planning and sustainable development of the area of the development plan provides for the housing of the existing and future population of the area in the manner set out in the strategy”

2000 ACT

Section 96 of the 2000 Act, as amended by the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2002, include the following provisions:-

• Up to 20 per cent of land zoned for housing development can be obtained by a Local Authority towards the delivery of social and affordable housing;
• A planning authority, or the Board on appeal, may include a condition within a grant of permission requiring the applicant to enter into an agreement with the planning authority, such an agreement may require an applicant to:-

1. Transfer lands or
2. (i) build and transfer houses;(ii) transfer fully or partially serviced sites;(iii) transfer other land within the functional area of the Local Authority;

   (iv) build and transfer houses on land to which (iii) applies;

   (v) transfer fully or partially serviced sites on land to which (iii) applies

   (vi) pay an agreed amount;

   (vii) a combination of the transfer of land and the doing of one or more things referred to at (i) to (vi);

   (viii) a combination of the doing of one or more of the things referred to at (i) to (vi).

Exemptions

• Where a development consists of 4 or fewer houses, or

• For housing on land of 0.1 hectares or less

Should an application comply with the exemption criteria, then an applicant may apply to a Local Authority for a Certificate of Exemption from Part V obligations.

The 2015 Act introduced a series of amendments to the 2000 Act.

2015 Act

• The 20% requirement has been replaced with 10%, so that a planning authority is only now entitled to acquire up to 10% of land for social and affordable housing.
• The exemption level of 4 or fewer houses has been increased to 9 or fewer houses.
• (b)(ii) and (iii) above no longer apply.
• (iv) above has been amended to remove reference to “building”, so that already built houses within the functional area can be transferred. This section has also been extended to allow for the granting to a Local Authority of a lease of houses on land the subject of a planning application, or on any land within the functional area of the planning authority.
• (b)(v) and (vi) above no longer apply.

Comment

Applicants can continue to transfer land to a Local Authority. However, such land must be by way of agreement with a Local Authority. An applicant has the further options of:-

• transferring houses on lands the subject of the planning application;
• transferring houses on lands not the subject of the planning application;
• granting of long term leases of properties;
• through a combination of the above options.

The 2015 Act has removed the options of:-

• transferring fully or partially serviced sites;
• transferring land not the subject of the planning application;
• paying monetary amounts.

The reduction of the 20% requirement to 10% has most likely been an important factor behind the substantial pick up in housing development now taking place, and should help to reduce the cost to a developer of completing houses within a development not captured under part V.

For further information on this topic, please contact Brendan Sharkey on bsharkey@reddycharlton.ie