Everyone loves things to be better. Materials, efficiency, open space, amenity. Doing better is a laudable – but let's not pretend it comes at zero cost 🌈🐕.
Design standards – inside & outside the dwelling – affect construction rates previously covered. They influence size, layout & yield, impacting purchase price & ongoing ownership costs.
📝BADS/SEPPs etc – Mandated minimum standards for boundary setbacks, access to light, room dimensions, cross ventilation, orientation etc – Aiming to improve amenity, these requirements constrain building envelopes, reducing yield & increasing land cost/unit – A Floor Space Ratios (FSR) like in NSW instead of height controls can offset where more height can be allowed for a slimmer footprint
📝National Construction Code – Overarching building regulations. Regularly updated to push standards, notably in noise, energy, accessibility – Standards make buildings more comfortable & efficient, but the materials & design requirements come at higher capital cost which can take decades to repay – Recently adopted changes pushed to 7-star minimum & mandatory accessibility to 100% of apartments, increasing the minimum size of accessways etc
🚗Car #parking ratios – Many Councils insist on the old model of 2 car parks per 3-bedroom unit, even when well serviced by public transport – Reason exist to loosen requirements, however surrounding residents will complain that on-street parking will be taken up instead – Reducing car parks could save ~$75/spot on purchase *if* Councils could stomach the backlash – & if consumers accept it
🏡Garden area/deep landscaping – Provisions used in many moderate growth zones mandating a proportion of land remaining for garden use.
– These limit the overall building footprint for a lot, combined with other requirements decreases yield/increases land cost.
Other costs which disproportionately impact apartments:
💵 #Planning/Building permit fees – Charges which add several $000 per dwelling (in VIC, charging new buyers to rectify issues with old builds 🤦🏻♂️)
📋Certification costs, esp. in NSW, after reports of systemic failures, inventing new specialties such as "facade engineer"
👨🏻🚒 Fire regulations – per above, this "hot topic" has increased requirements for sprinklers, self-closers, drenchers, boosters (not to mention time delays) & commensurate ongoing costs
🏢Building insurances – grown with inflation & now making up a large proportion of ongoing cost
I could go on.
🤔None are" wrong", nor should we be building terrible quality, inefficient boxes. But, whilst individually worthy, each requirement adds to a drag on the viability of apartments compared with other #housing.
You can't have apartments solve #affordability & keep loading them with requirements.