O’Brien to delay ‘use it or lose it’ rule for planning

Department of Housing fears that cancelling planning permission could lead to delays in construction, as a new application could take up to a year to be granted

Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Housing, fears that bringing in the ‘use it or lose it’ rule could damage the supply of housing in the midst of the pandemic. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Darragh O’Brien is pausing plans to introduce a “use it or lose it” condition for planning permissions for new homes due to concerns about its impact on the sector’s recovery.

The measure was first announced by the housing minister’s predecessor Eoghan Murphy in 2019 in response to the very low rate of construction of homes in fast-tracked, strategic housing developments.

New figures show that this problem is continuing, with only 19 per cent of strategic ...