Construction on thousands of new homes began in May 2022, Housing Dept confirms

Construction on almost 3,000 new residential homes took place in May this year.

That's according to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which today (Monday June 20) published commencement notices data confirming 2,746 notices were received by Building Control Authorities (BCA) last month. 

The figure marks a 17% increase on April 2022 when 2,346 homes began construction, and a 44.7% decline from May 2021 (4,736 units). 

However, this decrease may be attributed to a backlog following the ending of pandemic-related restrictions on construction from January to April 2021. 

Over 30,000 commencement notices were received by BCA in the past 12 months from June 2021 to May 2022, a figure 18.5% higher than the previous 12 month period of June 2020 to May 2021 (25,501). 

However, the figures are not directly comparable as pandemic-induced restrictions on construction were in place during this time period. 

Today's data reveals - with the exception of 2020 - the number of residential homes for which commencement notices were received has increased every year since 2015 (the earliest year for which comparable data is available). 

Once commencement notices are validated by the building control authority, works must commence on site within a 28 day period.