Using the Kenny Report To End Land Hoarding

If costs are affecting the property market and the delivery of social housing, while in the middle of a housing and homelessness crisis, it is logical that we explore every possible option for bringing costs down. An increase in expenditure caused by supply issues and staffing issues may be unavoidable given the current situation across Europe. Nonetheless, with one of the most significant costs in construction being the price of land, there is an opportunity for the State to demonstrate its commitment to resolving this crisis through visionary action.

The Committee on the Price of Building Land Report¹ —informally known as the Kenny Report—was published in 1973 and contains a recommendation that was relevant then, over 50 years ago, but is even more so today. The report recommended the use of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) in Designated Areas which would enable local authorities to buy land for housing at its agricultural value, plus 25%. The committee compiling the report estimated that this premium for the acquisition balanced the rights of the landowner to a fair price with that of the “common good.” Although the idea of using CPOs may seem to be too radical to be useful today, it is already regularly—and legally—called upon for the construction of critical infrastructure and services. Article 43 of the Irish Constitution, discussed further throughout, is often quoted as an impediment to any State intervention that interferes with the right of the individual to own private property, including land, but this right was always contingent on private
ownership not impeding the public interest, or common good.

To read more on the Kenny Report and how it could help reduce landhoarding, therefore creating smoother pathways to land development. Click the image below

1. Committee on the Price of Building Land, “Committee on the Price of Building Land Report” (Dublin, 1973),
   https://www.jcfj.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Report-to-the-Minister-for-Local-Government-Committee-on-the-Price-of-Building-
   Land.pdf. ↩︎