Ireland: Sinn Féin, the largest opposition party in the Irish parliament, has published a bill that aims to ban coliving developments across the Republic.
Former housing minister Eoghan Murphy changed planning laws in 2018 to allow for coliving projects. But Sinn Féin has introduced a bill which will outlaw coliving and what it sees as low standards in build-to-rent accommodation.
The party’s housing spokesperson Eoin O’Broin said that current legislation allows for unacceptable living conditions.
“The current coliving regulations allow for living spaces of 12 square metres, that is the average size of a car parking space, and the current price range for what we’ve been told is going to come on the market later this year is €1,300,” he said.
The proposed legislation would also remove “lower design standards” for build-to-rent apartments.
“Government policy rightly wants people to move into apartment living, that’s necessary both in terms of density and land use and meeting our climate change obligations,” he said. “But the idea that renters should have lower standards than owner occupier apartment dwellers simply makes no sense. Why you should be able to have more apartments per lift shaft, why there should be less storage space, why there should be less car parking, should be more studio apartments in build to rent rather than in build to buy apartments.”
The bill also proposed to remove the ability of a single minister to change planning law without a vote and the involvement of local authorities and the Oireachtas. It would amend the current Planning and Development Act 2000 by deleting the section referring to co-living and repeal the Build to Rent and Sharing Accommodation planning rules.
