Sinn Féin has brought forward legislation to ban the practice of allowing “co-living” arrangements.
The party’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said changes in the planning laws introduced by former minister for housing Eoghan Murphy in 2018 had allowed developers build co-living forms of housing.
“It is not a solution to the crisis in terms of he availability of affordable accommodation for young people in our cities,” he said.
“No one should be expected to live in a 12 square metre space, which is the size of a car parking space, and pay €1,300 a month for it.”
The idea is that residents of such developments have their own private areas for washing, sleeping and cooking, but there are shared common areas.
The new Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, in an interview last year, said he was opposed to the concept of co-living and has conducted a review of the laws.
Speaking outside Leinster House on Tuesday Mr Ó Broin said the Minister needed to make a quick decision as otherwise developers would submit applications in the run-up period. He said to his knowledge about 10 planning applications had been made in the greater Dublin area.
