Will we see the return of the bedsit?
BEDSIT accommodation could be re-introduced to tackle house shortages and the homelessness crisis, the Minister for Housing has revealed.
Eoghan Murphy said yesterday that he would not rule out reinstating bedsits to combat the homelessness crisis currently plaguing the country.
He said a review would be required before any decision was made to reverse legislation banning bedsits, or residential properties comprising just one room.
‘I don’t want to get ahead of my own review, but I am positively disposed to the use of bedsits if we can get it right, and get the standards right. I’m looking at it at the moment,’ Mr Murphy said.
The comments were welcomed by the Residential Landlords Association which has long-backed the reintroduction of bedsits.
‘Those comments are very significant and very much welcomed,’ Fintan McNamara of the RLA said.
‘This would help a lot of single people, in particular, who are finding it very hard to get budget accommodation.’
In 2013, regulations were rolled out on the standards of rented accommodation. Those regulations banned shared bathrooms and landlord-controlled heating systems.
The measures were interpreted as effectively outlawing the leasing of bedsits.
According to Mr McNamara several landlords of such properties have not been able to repurpose their units, meaning they are lying vacant.
‘There are a number of units – about 1,500 to 2,000 – where it hasn’t been economically feasible to convert,’ he said.
‘They require planning permission or it would ruin the structure of a house or devalue a house.’