Compulsory balconies are making apartments more expensive to build and buy, a housing expert has argued. 

For many years, balconies were a requirement for anyone building an apartment in Ireland. 

Since the Government’s planning reforms last year, the issue has been left for local councils to decide on. 

On Moncrieff, Progress Ireland spokesperson Seán O’Neill McPartlin said the cost of balconies adds between €5,000 and €20,000 to the cost of building an apartment. 

 “They’re not cost neutral and my view, at this point, is this regulation should be judged by their effects, not by their intent. 

“You ask why they’re there; they’re there because the intention to make housing quite nice. 

“But the effect is that most people cannot afford apartments.” 

Apartments in Killarney. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Mr O’Neill McPartlin continued that while other factors impact, such as size and energy efficiency impact the cost of an apartment, they all add up to the final cost of the apartment. 

“All these taken together, make apartments unaffordable for 80 to 90% of people,” he said. 

The solution, Mr O’Neill McPartlin argued, is for the market to be allowed to make the decision; balconies should be neither banned or compulsory. 

“If you would like these things, you should be allowed to purchase them,” he said. 

“I don’t think it’s the place of Government to tell you, ‘I know you’re finding it hard to get a new place, but we’re going to make it more expensive because we think you need a balcony.’

“I think that should be up to you.”

Main image: New apartments in Dublin's Docklands. Picture by: Ros Drinkwater / Alamy.com.