Seán O’Neill McPartlin: No. Would people want a balcony if they knew it cost between €6,000 and €20,000?
If you walk around Dublin and look up, you see balconies everywhere. But, even on warmer days, they are often empty. You may ask, then, if they are so underused, why are they everywhere?
The simple reason is that the Government and councils are convinced people need balconies. They call these “private open space”, as if being fully in view of busy streets can count as “private” in any meaningful sense. Regulations published this summer in the Planning Design Standards for Apartments: Guidelines for Planning Authorities state that, with certain exceptions, “private amenity space shall be provided in the form of gardens or patios/terraces for ground floor apartments and balconies or terraces at upper levels.” But the guidelines effectively leave it up to the discretion of the council, adding that “planning authorities may accept a reduced provision of balconies where high quality, usable communal open space is provided within the scheme or where their amenity value is negligible”. Equally, if it decides a development needs balconies, then it can mandate them.
Balconies may be nice to have, but they are not free. They are estimated to cost between €6,000 and €20,000, including soft costs. The question the Government (seemingly) has not asked is whether many households would, if given the choice, pay this much for a balcony. A south-facing balcony, overlooking a park, green space or quiet street, is a lovely place to have a coffee. Like gardens, I think they can be a welcome addition – so much so, I think you should be able to purchase them. But at present, if you want to buy or rent an apartment, you’re usually going to have to buy or rent a balcony.
Here are two important facts about housing. Right now, new apartments are as nice as they have ever been. They are bigger, brighter, warmer and safer. Here’s the other fact. They cost more to build than people are able to afford to pay.
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A big part of why Irish apartments are unaffordable is because regulations mandate expensive features, such as balconies. This is partly about our expectations. As our country gets richer, we expect (and rightly so) higher and higher standards. As wages go up, we can afford nicer and nicer things (including homes). But that isn’t the whole truth.
Quietly, and without much fanfare, Government officials have slowly imposed further regulations on building. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But as with other areas of regulation, the upward creep seems to have occurred without much concern for whether people want – or, crucially, can afford – the new minimum standards.
High minimum standards mean high minimum costs. It now costs in the region of €550,000-€600,000 to build a two-bedroom apartment in Dublin. This number gets thrown around a lot, but it is important to remember that if it costs €500,000 to build a flat, it must sell for above €500,000, or the Government will have to subsidise it.
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The Government, to its credit, recently pruned some of the worst offending regulations. It reduced the size of studio and three-bed apartments. It relaxed the dual-aspect requirement to 25 per cent of the apartments in a development. It removed the council’s ability to dictate the “mix” of apartments. These changes will cut some costs, and that should be welcomed. But it baulked at removing the necessity for balconies, patios or terraces, which continue to be a requirement in most cases.
The sweet spot for cutting costs should be removing unnecessary regulations. And few things strike me as more unnecessary as the huge number of unused balconies scattered around Ireland’s cities. Ending the balcony requirement altogether wouldn’t stop people being able to buy an apartment with a balcony, but it would give buyers the choice.
Balconies can be a lovely feature. People should be able to buy one if they want one. But equally, regulations shouldn’t force them on people already stretched to afford a home. If given a choice to pay extra for a balcony, I know what I would choose.
Seán O’Neill McPartlin is director of housing policy at Progress Ireland
Ciaran Cuffe: Yes. Let’s not exacerbate social inequality by reverting to lower standards for new homes
The race to the bottom in apartment standards is a worrying trend. The Government’s new guidelines for apartments have already allowed smaller units with fewer windows and less storage space. Buildings last – and as apartments are now people’s homes for the long term, we should build well from the start. Everyone, whether they live in the countryside, the suburbs or in cities and towns, deserves easy access to quality outdoor space.
In the hustle and bustle of urban lives, apartment balconies allow you to switch off, take a breather and enjoy the natural environment. In crowded cities a balcony gives you space to read a book, get some air, store your bike, dry the washing, grow some herbs or simply enjoy the view. Easy access to outdoor space is crucial for our physical wellbeing and mental health.
Balconies are a practical and adaptable part of achieving this in apartments. They are versatile, and can adapt to our changing needs through the seasons and at different life stages. Access to daylight and sunlight helps balance our circadian rhythms, improves our sleep patterns and boosts our mental health. As we spend more of our lives inside and online, ready access to the outdoors is vital.
In the 1990s, councillors fought against speculators and developers to ensure balconies were provided in new-build apartments. Any attempt to water down this hard-won requirement must be resisted. The Irish Planning Institute stated that the new guidelines, including reducing balcony requirements, will not drive development costs down or accelerate delivery. There are better ways of making new apartments affordable, such as tackling the artificially high price of land which contributes significantly to new dwelling costs.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, access to private outdoor space became more prized than ever. Even a small balcony allowed apartment dwellers to catch some sunlight, say hello to their neighbours and interact with the outside world. Since then, the use of our homes has changed, and they now serve as places for work and study as well as living and relaxing. Ready access to outside space for a quick stretch or fresh air provides the break we need from Zoom calls or time online. For those with children a balcony provides play-space, and more daylight and sunshine. For older people a balcony provides fresh air without the need to travel far from your livingroom. A terrace gives pets ready outside access. For those with disabilities, a balcony removes the need to take lifts, stairs or ramps to gain access to the outdoors.
Back in the 1980s, when tax incentives led to a rush of apartment building, there was a tendency for speculators to bolt fake balcony railings to their buildings to give the impression of a more generous space. It may have helped sales, but such shoebox apartments were often unimaginative, badly designed and poorly built. A lack of foresight about planning regulations now will build up problems for the future. We may be in a housing crisis, but the apartments we build now will be people’s homes long into the future. Let’s not exacerbate social inequality by reverting to lower standards.
Ciarán Cuffe is an architect, spatial planner and former MEP
