The issue of unfinished housing developments featured heavily at the 2011 Irish Planning Institute Conference, with a stated determination to tackle this issue at National level.
In 2010, the Government commissioned the 'National Housing Development Survey Report' assessing 2,846 unfinished housing developments. It was prepared with the intention of formulating further action by Government towards resolving the emergence of 'Ghost Estates'.
Following this survey, the DoEHLG published the draft guidance 'Managing and Resolving Unfinished Housing Developments' in December 2010. This non-statutory guidance manual sets out the key issues and the steps required to manage and tackle them.
One of the steps required is the preparation of Site Resolution Plans ("SRPs") by either the developer or the receiver appointed to recover debts. The SRPs would require agreement with the Local Authority's 'Unfinished Housing Development Team' in order to avoid punitive action.
An issue highlighted by the Guidance is the problem of expired bonds. (This has arisen due to numerous applications to extend the duration of planning permission beyond the normal five years, with difficulties securing extension of time in related bonds). The Guidance suggests other mechanisms to replace bonds such as cash deposits, insurance bonds, or titles over specified parts of the development. Some local authorities such as Kildare and Laois have already used titles as security!
This guidance manual is no more than a first, tentative, exploratory step towards tackling 'Ghost Estates'. While it may seem more aspirational than practical at times, it includes the key mechanism of the SRP which has the potential to manage and resolve unfinished housing developments.
