Taking in Charge Information

Housing Estates containing two or more houses can be taken in charge by the local authority either by a request from a plebiscite of owners, (following a period of four years post expiry of the relevant planning permission) or more usually by a developer on completion of a housing estate to Fingal County Council Taking in Charge Standard.

The Taking in Charge of a housing estate should be carefully considered through the design, planning and construction stage, thereby avoiding delays at the latter end and ensuring that the estate is taken in a timely and efficient manner. Common issues that arise which may cause delays to the taking in charge process include:

Services such as public lighting, surface water drainage installed in private areas.
Roads, services and open spaces not installed in accordance with Fingal Taking in Charge Policy and Specifications.
Areas incorrectly marked as public such as private parking areas, bin stores etc.
Incomplete Health and Safety file information submitted.

In order to facilitate the taking in charge process Fingal County Council have produced the Fingal Taking in Charge Policy and Specifications listed below. It is envisaged that these documents are examined by the developer at planning stage and used as a blueprint through the design, planning, construction and completion stage to achieve a timely and efficient Taking In Charge process.

A new folder will be created in Fingal County Council’s SharePoint point system when a commencement notice for two or more houses in the Fingal County Council Area is created on the BCMS system. Developers can request access to this folder by emailing [email protected] . Upon getting access to this folder the developer can upload relevant information in preparation for the Taking in Charge process, such as Health and Safety File documents e.g., as-built drawings, test certificates, photos of service installations etc.

Taking in Charge Process

The process for the Taking in Charge of a housing estate by Fingal County Council is outlined in detail in the “Taking in Charge Policy and Specifications” below.”

Request for Taking in Charge

In a typical development, the Developer makes the request for Taking in Charge when they have all the required documents in place and the estate is built to the correct standard. However, following the last recession where many Developers went out of business, Section 180 of the Planning and Development Act was amended in 2011 to introduce a process where the Owners of the dwellings in an estate can make a Taking in Charge request, aka as a Plebiscite Taking in Charge Request.

In accordance with Section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) a Taking in Charge request can be made by a plebiscite comprising of the majority of owners in a development 4 years after the expiry of the planning permission for the development. Upon receipt of a request through a plebiscite for a development to be taken in charge and assessment of the validity of the plebiscite, the local authority will issue the nominated spokesperson with an acknowledgment confirming receipt of the application. In all cases, the Development must be completed in accordance with the granted planning permission and any conditions attached to the permission.