Council sees no reason to change standards

Claims that Dublin City Council's apartment standards were holding back development were "simplistic, premature" and based on a superficial analysis, a senior council official said. Executive manager of the council's planning department Jim Keogan said he had no reason to advise councillors to reduce apartment sizes.

While the council’s management can make recommendations, only the city councillors can change the size standards.

Head of the Government's Housing Agency John O'Connor wants the council to lower the minimum apartment size and allow studio apartments for renters. "I haven't seen any evidence to suggest we should propose to the elected members that they should change the standards," Mr Keogan said.

Widespread criticism

The council had sustained widespread criticism in previous decades for the quality of apartment blocks that had been built in the city, he said.

“These standards were brought in to ensure the quality of life for people living in apartments. I would need a much stronger reason than development costs to propose to the elected members a reduction in size.”

The council’s standards were not greatly in excess of those of the Department of the Environment, he said. He pointed out that the department says that individual planning authorities can adjust their standards to local needs.

“They are generic standards, what’s appropriate in Leitrim is not going to suit Dublin. The department recognises it’s not a one size fits all. We have formulated standards to meet the needs of a capital city. I don’t think the standards pertaining in Dublin city are the reason apartments have not been built.”

Chairwoman of the council's housing committee Críona Ní Dhálaigh of Sinn Féin said there was no evidence to suggest allowing smaller apartments would result in lower property prices.

“If we go back to building micro apartments it’s the owner of the land who will gain from having more units on the site, but the price isn’t going to go down for the buyer or the renter.”

Affordable housing

However, she feared councillors would come under pressure to lower standards with the promise of the construction of affordable housing to deal with the crisis.

“I would be worried there will be interests that are going to try to justify a reduction in the standards because of the housing crisis and it will be hard campaigning to keep them, but the onus is on the council to stand firm, we can’t expect people to live in dog boxes.”

She was particularly concerned by suggestions a different standard could be applied to rental apartments. “If you are homeless of course you will accept a tiny apartment, but this is about building a successful city and, if we want people to remain in the city long term, we have to build decent-sized apartments.”

Labour councillor Andrew Montague, who chairs the council's planning committee, said he was not surprised by calls to lower the minimum standards, but said he would be surprised if councillors heeded them. "There was huge resistance to these better standards when we brought them in, but we brought them in anyway. I would be surprised if anyone was sympathetic to this call."

There was already an oversupply, let alone an adequate supply of small apartments in the city, he said. “There are thousands of smaller apartments in the city, our job is not to reduce quality, our job is to make great places to live.”