Housing

Dublin City Council spending up to 40% more to deliver homes than private developers

An audit of the local authority’s homebuilding costs showed it spent up to €150,000 more per unit than private developers to deliver social housing

The report has shown that across the twelve council-led areas since 2019, the average all-in cost of a one-bedroom apartment was estimated at €335,000 and that of a two-bedroom apartment was €514,000. Picture: RollingNews.ie

Dublin City Council has spent up to €150,000 more per home to build social housing compared to private developers, a new audit of development costs has revealed.

The review showed that the local authorities' costs to deliver one- and two-bedroom homes are between 11 per cent and 44 per cent higher than the private sector.

The audit of Dublin City Council’s spend on home building was commissioned following a report by the Business Post in January 2021. It detailed that senior executives at the local authority had raised concerns about the “premium price” it has been charged by private contractors to build social housing.