Ministers are set to receive an overhaul of the guidelines for one-off housing today, writes Muiris Ó Cearbhaill.
New homes are set to be approved through a set of new social and economic criteria and override restrictive planning policies that limit the success of applications.
The overhaul will also increase the number of homes that are permitted to be built in one area and ban limits by local councils, after years of pressure from rural dwellers over planning refusals.
One-off rural homes are houses approved in areas where the land is not previously zoned for residential use, such as on farms or fields.
The issue became a political topic after changes to Government policy placed limits on who was eligible to build in certain areas.
Minister for Housing James Browne will today bring forward new rules which will override existing local policies and guidelines first introduced over 20 years ago.
It is likely the guidelines will be approved by ministers this morning as the Government has signalled support for the changes since the beginning of last year.
It is understood the new rules will set out several sets of criteria that must be met to build one-off homes.
Mr Browne, a Fianna Fáil TD, will tell fellow ministers that the new guidelines place a focus on ensuring there is a “genuine need” to live rurally.
In rural areas where there are other homes available nearby, people seeking to build a house will be required to prove they have a “local housing need”.
This can be because of two reasons: a social need, where a person has “strong local ties” to the area, or an economic need, where the area and the person’s job are linked.
To prove a social need, applicants must have lived in the area for at least ten years and must live at least 10km away from where the new home will be located.
To prove an economic need, the applicant’s job must depend on living in that area, with their work involving farming, forestry, or local schools and services.
Remote working is not considered.
In all other areas, local need requirements will not apply but all normal planning laws must be followed and assessments will be made using the standard criteria.
According to the Planning Regulator, between 500 and 700 one-off housing applications made in rural areas are refused each year.
The regulator has previously claimed applications are often rejected because the original application was not in line with existing planning laws or guidelines.
Mr Browne is expected to tell ministers that councils will be limited in their ability to set restrictive planning guidelines under the new policy.
The Department of Housing and the Department of Rural Development and the Gaeltacht have agreed that councils will be advised against implementing several rules, to ensure this.
Councils will be banned from introducing limits on the number of houses that can be built in one area, and setting minimum road frontage requirements and minimum site sizes.
Mr Browne will say the change will prioritise homes for people who need to live in rural areas while preventing sprawl.
