Definition: Building permits; number of dwellings (Index)

Category: Short-term statistics

2006 definition

It is the objective of the number of dwelling building permit index to show the future development of construction activity in terms of unit numbers.

A building permit is an authorisation to start work on a building project. As such, a permit is the final stage of planning and building authorisations from public authorities, prior to the start of work.

An index based on these permits should provide a good indication of the workload for the building industry in the near future, although this may not be the case when a large proportion of permits are not used or when there is a long time lag between permits and building starts.

Indices of the number of permits are compiled for one-dwelling residential buildings and residential buildings with two and more dwellings. A dwelling is a room or suite of rooms and its accessories in a permanent building or structurally separated part thereof which by the way it has been built, rebuilt, converted and so on, is intended for private habitation. It should have separate access to a street (direct or via a garden or grounds) or to a common space within the building (staircase, passage, gallery, and so on). Detached rooms for habitation which are clearly to be used as a part of the dwelling should be counted as part of the dwelling. A dwelling may thus be constituted of separate buildings within the same enclosure, provided they are clearly intended for habitation by the same private household. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/l_281/l_28120061012en00150029.pdf Regulation (EC) No 588/2001 of 26 March 2001 concerning short-term statistics