Ireland needs more european-style family flats, say surveyors

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has called for more European-style family flats to be built to combat the nation's lack of affordable housing.

The society also called for a reduction in VAT for new home builing to help tackle the rise in house prices.

The SCA has published a 10-step strategy that it says will make sure an adequate supply of property is provided in cities, particularly Dublin.

Simon Stokes, Chairman of the Residential Group of the SCSI, comments: "Our strategy document focuses on practical steps which can accelerate the delivery of new homes. There is a lack of development finance for builders but the government could address this by establishing a Builders Finance Fund. In the UK a BFF fund of €660 million has been established to help smaller builders and to speed up housing developments of between 15 and 250 units which have slowed down or stalled."

"A reduction in the VAT rate for the hospitality sector worked extremely well here in recent years, boosting the tourism sector and helping to create 15,000 jobs. We believe a reduction in the current 13.5 per cent VAT on new homes to 5 per cent for a period of two years could have a similarly positive impact on house building and job creation."