Co-living ban amid fear of land price increases
Opposition welcomes move over ‘shoddy’ and ‘shoebox’ schemes
CO-LIVING developments, in which people have their own bedrooms and bathrooms but share living rooms and kitchens, are to be banned.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said he would amend the planning guidelines to restrict all future commercial co-living developments.
He said he was concerned that the high- density developments would drive land prices up, and reduce the number of affordable homes available to rent or buy.
Former housing minister Eoghan Murphy had described t he schemes as ‘very trendy’ and ‘like a boutique hotel’, to meet a niche demand f or younger renters wanting to live in city centres.
However, the ban was welcomed by Opposition politicians, who described the developments as ‘shoddy’ and ‘shoeboxes’.
Minister O’Brien said he was taking the decision following a report on co-living which had been produced by his own officials.
Existing applications are not affected, nor developments that have already received permission.
To date, 14 applications have been made in two years; five have been approved, two refused and seven are under consideration.
However, none has yet been built.
Some developments envisage 20 people sharing one kitchen.
Permission has been given for co-living developments in Dublin – in Dún Laoghaire, Castleknock and Rathmines – with An Bord Pleanála often overriding local residents’ objections.
A host of controversial applications have been made for developments near St Michan’s Church in Dublin’s north inner city and in The Liberties on the southside, where basement coliving units are being proposed.
Minister O’Brien said he was concerned about the concentration of the schemes, which together account for 2,100 units.
He also said that many schemes were not in the inner-city locations originally proposed, and that their ‘inappropriate’ sites had ‘undermined the concept’.
‘This was announced as a niche measure. I believe if it is allowed to go unchecked, it won’t become a niche measure and will in certain parts of the country become far more prevalent than we want,’ he told RTÉ News. He said the Government was focused on delivering good-quality, affordable housing ‘on a scale never seen before’.
He acknowledged there remained a housing crisis, with only 16,000 to 18,000 home completions scheduled this year, while the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) believes 33,000 are needed annually. He added: ‘We have a big challenge… 130,000 people are waiting for homes. We have a lot of people stuck in an unaffordability trap, and that is why I am bringing f orward affordable rental and affordable purchase. Lots of good things are going to be done next year.’
The Social Democrats housing spokesman, Dublin Bay North TD Cian O’Callaghan, said that the ban on co-living developments was ‘long overdue’.
‘The Government must now draw a line in the sand under these shoddy housing policies,’ he said.
‘At the heart of the co-living plan was a desire to drive down standards, forcing people to live in shoeboxes so that developers could squeeze every last cent out of a site. Today’s decision by the Minister f or Housing is a recognition that this was wrong.’
Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said he wanted to see an outright ban on co-living developments.
He explained: ‘If the proposal is simply to restrict this accommodation, undoubtedly some developers will find a way around this.
‘We have witnessed this approach around purpose-built student accommodation and owners seeking to change this accommodation to co-living.
‘We needed to see an outright ban so that there is no wriggle room in terms of any new co-living spaces being developed.’