Under the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness, the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 (the Act) introduced new streamlined arrangements to enable planning applications for strategic housing developments (SHDs) of 100 housing units or more, or student accommodation or shared accommodation developments of 200 bed spaces or more, to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála (the Board) for determination.
In 2018, I published updated Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments Guidelines for Planning Authorities, as Ministerial Guidance under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), following an extensive public consultation process.
The updated guidelines set out policy in relation to a range of apartment formats needed to meet the accommodation needs of different household types and sizes. This includes the potential for a ‘Shared Accommodation’ or ‘Co-Living’ format. This format comprises professionally managed rental accommodation, where living accommodation, that may comprise individual rooms, is rented within an overall development, that must also include access to shared or communal facilities and amenities, but not shared bathroom or toilet facilities. Up until 31 March 2020, developments comprising 294 co-living bedspaces have been approved by An Bord Pleanála under the SHD process since the guidelines came into force in 2018. In comparison, in overall terms, there were more than 60,000 homes permitted, none of which incorporated co-living bedspaces, from when the guidelines were published to the end of 2019 alone.
Shared accommodation is one of a number of residential settings that include hotels, hostels, residential institutions and student accommodation, where residential occupation comprises more than one household. Although such accommodation formats are not as prevalent as individual houses or apartments, they nonetheless play an important role in catering for the diverse needs of the overall population. My Department will continue to monitor all relevant existing policy measures and activities, having regard to the most up to date Government public health advice and guidance, as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.
