New Data Confirms Measures to Increase Home Ownership are having an Impact

Almost 16,000 residential units have been ring-fenced for individual buyers in the last year including 1,417 in Fingal
 
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, has today, 09 June 2022, published a progress update on the planning measures he introduced one year ago to increase home ownership and restrict the practice of bulk purchasing by institutional investors.
In May 2021, Ministerial Guidelines for Planning Authorities (“Regulation of Commercial Institutional Investment in Housing”) were issued to planning authorities, in order to prevent multiple housing and duplex units being sold to a single buyer.
New data received by the Minister confirms that almost 1,417 residential units have been ring-fenced for individual buyers and restricted from bulk buying or multiple sales to a single purchaser in Fingal. Fingal County Council confirmed the data which is more than any other local authority.
Commenting Minister O’Brien said, “Last year in response to the understandable outrage at an investment fund bulk buying traditional family homes I moved very quickly with my Government colleagues to ban this practice. I’m very pleased to see that the steps we have taken are proving successful and that they are working.
“This Government has placed homeownership firmly at the heart of our Housing for All plans. I want the young, and not so young people in our communities who are currently struggling to own their own home to know that Government are committed to helping them.
“We have legislated for an owner occupier guarantee, we are introducing affordability measures, and we are seeing the highest number of housing completions and planning permissions on record. All of this combined is helping to put the dream of homeownership back in reach,” he said.
The Ministerial Planning Guidelines are part of a series of Government measures designed to prohibit the bulk buying of houses and duplexes in order to increase housing stock for home ownership. Other measures include a 10% stamp duty levy on the cumulative purchase of 10 or more residential houses in a 12 month period. 
Last year, the Government took additional steps to further protect owner occupiers and legislated to require local authorities to ensure home ownership as a tenure type is provided for and estimated in their housing strategies.