16.10 Standards for Residential Accommodation

Standards for Residential Accommodation

The provision and protection of residential amenities is a primary concern of Dublin City Council. This will be achieved through the relevant provisions of the Dublin City Development Plan.

As outlined in the ‘Quality Housing’ chapter, it is an aim of Dublin City Council to encourage and foster living at sustainable urban densities through the creation of attractive mixed-use sustainable neighbourhoods. It is critical that new residential development is sufficiently flexible to allow for changing circumstances (e.g. aging, disability, growing family) and sufficiently spacious with all the necessary facilities to provide a level of residential amenity attractive to families with children on a long-term basis.

The standards for residential accommodation are divided into standards relating to apartments and houses (16.10.1 and 16.10.2 respectively) and apply to new-build residential schemes. While the minimum standards set within these sections will be sought in relation to refurbishment schemes it is acknowledged that this may not always be possible, particularly in relation to historic buildings, ‘living over the shop’ projects, tight urban infill developments, and in the city regeneration area designated under the Living City Initiative. In such cases the standards may be relaxed subject to the provision of good quality accommodation, and where the proposal secures the effective usage of underutilised accommodation. In such cases it must be satisfactorily demonstrated that the internal design and overall layout is closely aligned to the specific needs of the intended occupiers.