Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Deputy Leader to schedule a debate in the House with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to clarify the position on co-living ventures and to also discuss how we combat the continuing illegal advertisement of rental properties that fall well below the standards already set. The Minister gave notice two weeks ago that co-living is to be banned, yet permissions are still being granted for existing applications. Co-living should not be a feature of our housing system. We need clarity from the Minister on whether there is to be an outright ban on co-living or if its use is to be only restricted.

A co-living development at the Brady's Castleknock Inn site on the Navan Road has been approved, as has a project on Merrion Square in Ballsbridge. This means that within the last two weeks well over 300 co-living spaces have been approved. The concerns that were raised around Covid-19 and this style of residence will still be an issue well into the future. One of the main reasons given in the report from the planning division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the rejection of future developments was that some co-living developments consisted of less than 29 sq. m. of space per person.

On the issue of the advertisement of rental properties, we still see private rental properties advertised online that fall well below the minimum space per person requirement. One such advertisement on Leinster Road in Rathmines received an awful lot of attention online last week. The photographs of the property showed a cramped lay out such that it appeared it would be nearly impossible to open the oven door without moving the bed. While many people pointed out how unsuitable it was to have an oven and a sink within arms reach of a bed, it was shocking to note that by the end of the day the property had been let for over €1,000 per month. People who commented under the online advertisement asked if this was illegal. Once the advertising platform had seen the lack of space in the apartment and the high cost of the monthly rent it would have had to take down the advertisement.

We need clarity on the ban on co-living and on existing applications for co-living developments. We also need the Government to ban the advertisement of unsuitable rental properties and accommodation on prominent property letting platforms.