David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 545: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government further to section 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, his views on conditions imposed by planning authorities requiring applicants who receive planning permission to use the dwelling for a minimum period of a number of years from the date of its application solely as the place of permanent residence of the applicant and or members of their immediate family; his views on the relaxing of such conditions in circumstances where such applicants have decided to emigrate for economic reasons in order to gain employment; if he is aware of any such circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31567/10]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Section 39 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that a condition may be attached to a grant of planning permission for a house, specifying that the house must be occupied by persons of a particular class or description, with provision to that effect to be incorporated in an agreement under section 47 of the Act.

My Department's 2005 Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing state that such conditions are only appropriate to control development in rural areas close to cities and towns which are under considerable pressure for development and in areas which are under pressure for holiday home or second home development. The Guidelines recommend that applicants demonstrate roots or links to such areas within the local need criteria set out in the development plan in order to facilitate a positive approach to applications from such persons in areas where an application might have to be ordinarily refused.

The Guidelines recommend a seven-year occupancy condition period for a dwelling. Nonetheless, within this period, it is open to the dwelling owner, with the consent of the planning authority, to sell the house to another person who would satisfy the local need criteria for the area.

The Guidelines further recommend that lending institutions should not be bound by occupancy conditions if they foreclose on a mortgage and wish to sell the property. As it would be questionable whether a lending institution would advance funding if in any way restricted in the event of foreclosure, exempting lending institutions from occupancy conditions is intended not to put obstacles in the way of persons who wish to source funding to build a house because of a separate statutory condition which may arise in a planning context.

While the enforcement of such planning conditions is a matter for each planning authority, having regard to national policy, I understand that planning authorities consider requests for non-enforcement of occupancy conditions on a case-by-case basis from dwelling owners who are in compelling situations for the sale of their dwelling.