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Headline Table: Dwelling units granted planning permission in 2020 and 20211
 HousesApartmentsTotal
Quarter 4 20204,4325,1049,536
Quarter 4 20215,3438,10713,450
Annual % change20.6%58.8%41.0%
    
January - December 2020 17,70924,66242,371
January - December 2021 16,71926,27242,991
% change-5.6%6.5%1.5%
12020 and 2021 revised due to additional information.

When interpreting the data in this release, users are advised to note that Strategic Housing Development (SHD) planning permissions can have a significant impact on the number of dwelling units approved and in turn on the annual and quarterly changes. 

In 2021, the number of dwelling units granted planning permission was 42,991, of which 26,272 were apartments and 16,719 were houses. When compared to the same period in 2020, the number of total dwelling units approved increased by 1.5%. Apartment approvals rose by 6.5% in the year, while house approvals decreased by 5.6%. See Headline Table and Figure 1.

Multi Development HousesOne-off HousesApartments
Q42019355312656826
Q12020322713558500
Q2202023946694208
Q32020387817546850
Q42020291815145104
Q12021142816613874
Q22021210017867264
Q32021238320187027
Q42021330920348107

The annual figures also show that:

  • SHD dwelling units accounted for 49.9% of all dwelling units approved. See Table 7.
  • One-off houses approved increased by 41.7% in 2021 when compared with 2020. See Table 1b.
  • Total floor area planned was 8,542 thousand square metres in 2021. Of this, 56.8% was for new dwellings, 32.2% for other new constructions and 11.0% for extensions. The total floor area planned in 2021 increased by 6.3% in comparison with the previous year. See Table 2.
  • A total of 18,908 apartments were granted planning permission in Dublin county in 2021. This accounted for 72.0% of total apartment units granted approval in the state. See Table 8b & Figure 4a.
X-axis labelHousesApartments
20016072917780
20025105518259
20034960528749
20046957632077
20057565023702
20066000818747
20076282821569
20084780619778
20092681413742
2010116046874
201190982547
20125389861
201360021197
20146626785
2015102502794
2016123183632
2017154405336
2018199648975
20191956318898
20201770924662
20211671926272

In 2020, for the first time, more apartments than houses were granted planning permission, a trend which has continued in 2021. In 2021, apartments granted planning permission accounted for 61.1% of all dwelling units approved. See Tables 1a & 5 and Figure 2.

Table 1a Summary of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q4 2021

Table 1b Quarterly aggregates of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q4 2021

A total of 7,222 planning permissions were granted for all developments in the current quarter. Of these permissions, 59.7% were for new constructions, 25.0% for extensions and 15.3% for alterations and conversions. See Table 2 and Figure 3a.

For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines
Type
New constructions59.7341456660205
Extensions24.9515369703683
Alterations and
conversions
15.3143173636112
X-axis labelNew constructionsExtensionsAlterations and conversions
2019 Q4351716111049
2020 Q1377217361123
2020 Q21961874554
2020 Q3472823691415
2020 Q4401018601147
2021 Q1399521911325
2021Q2453224771520
2021Q3482627901621
2021Q4431418021106

There were 32,499 planning permissions granted for all developments in 2021. This compares with 25,549 permissions in 2020, an increase of 27.2%. There was an increase of 35.4% in planning permissions granted for extensions, 31.4% for alterations and conversions and 22.1% for new constructions when compared to 2020. See Table 2 and Figure 3b.

Table 2 Summary of planning permissions granted, Q1 2013 - Q4 2021

In 2021, 26,272 new apartments were granted planning permission.

The region with the highest proportion of apartment units granted approval at 72.0% was Dublin with 18,908 apartments, followed by the Mid-East (9.0%) with 2,373 approvals and the South-West (8.1%) with 2,135 approvals. The Eastern and Midland Region (made up of Dublin, the Mid-East and the Midland regions) accounted for 21,923 apartment units, 83.4% of all new apartment units granted planning. The Southern Region (made up of the Mid-West, South East and South West regions) accounted for 13.5% of apartments granted planning compared to 3.0% for the Northern and Western Region (Border and West). See Table 6 and Figure 4a.

There were 16,719 housing units granted planning permission in 2021. The county with the highest proportion of houses granted planning was Cork at 13.1% with 2,189 houses, followed by Dublin (7.1%) with 1,193 houses and Meath at 6.8%, with 1,138 houses. Leitrim with 74 houses granted planning accounted for the lowest proportion. See Table 8b and Figure 4b.

X-axis labelNon-Strategic Housing Development unitsStrategic Housing Development units
2020 Q1 - Apartment units17506750
2020 Q1 - Multi-development house units17991428
2020 Q2 - Apartment units6623546
2020 Q2 - Multi-development house units13771017
2020 Q3 - Apartment units14945356
2020 Q3 - Multi-development house units21251753
2020 Q4 - Apartment units23292775
2020 Q4 - Multi-development house units18121106
2021 Q1 - Apartment units11002774
2021 Q1 - Multi-development house units1282146
2021 Q2 - Apartment units26854579
2021 Q2 - Multi-development house units1565535
2021 Q3 - Apartment units19055122
2021 Q3 - Multi-development house units1785598
2021 Q4 - Apartment units14496658
2021 Q4 - Multi-development house units22851024

Dwelling units granted by type of application - SHD and non-SHD applications

The Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process is where applications for developments of at least 100 residential units or 200 plus student bed spaces can be made directly to An Bord Pleanála.

In 2021, the number of SHD apartment units approved rose by 3.8% when compared with 2020, while the number of SHD housing units approved declined by 56.6%. SHD apartment units accounted for 72.8% of all apartment units granted planning permission, with standard applications accounting for the remaining 27.2%. In the same period, 9,220 multi-development housing units were granted planning permission, of which 2,303 (25.0%) were Strategic Housing Development applications and 6,917 (75.0%) were standard applications. See Table 7 and Figure 5.

Table 3 Summary of planning permissions granted, Q4 2021, classified by region, county and type of development

Table 4(a) Planning permissions granted, Q4 2021, classified by region, type of development and functional category

Table 4(b) Total floor area planned (000 square metres) in new construction and extensions, Q4 2021, classified by region and functional category

Table 5 Summary of planning permissions granted for new houses and apartments, Q1 2013 - Q4 2021

Table 6 Apartment units granted planning permission by region, Q1 2020 - Q4 2021

Table 7 Apartment, multi-development and total house units granted planning permission by type of application, Q1 2018 - Q4 2021

Table 8a Dwelling units granted planning permission by county, Q4 2021

Table 8b Dwelling units granted planning permission by county in 2021

Table 9 Summary of planning permissions granted in 2021, classified by region, county and type of development

Table 10 Planning permissions granted in 2021, classified by region, type of development and functional category

Table 11 Total Floor Area Planned (000 square metres) in new construction and extensions in 2021, classified by region and functional category

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