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COVID comparison hits June home-building figure

Housing starts in June were almost 30% lower than in the same month last year, according to figures from the Department of Housing.

The department said that 2,060 commencement notices, which indicate the number of homes on which construction work started, were received during the month.

It pointed out, however, that the June 2021 figure included some of the backlog from previous months, when there were significant COVID-19 restrictions on construction activity.

Separate figures earlier this month had, however, indicated a drop in overall construction activity in June for the first time in 14 months.

Over the 12 months from July 2021 to June 2022, building authorities received 29,343 commencement notices – up 7.6% compared with the previous 12-month period.

Bill on short-term rentals passed

Since the current series of data began in 2015, new-home starts have increased in every calendar year except 2020, when pandemic restrictions were in place.

Meanwhile, a bill that will prevent online platforms from advertising short-term rental properties in rent pressure zones (RPZs) without the required planning permission has been passed in the Seanad.

The Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022 had been passed by the Dáil earlier this week.

The new curbs on short-term rentals come into effect from 1 September.