Disability & Built-to-Rent Accommodation

Mon, May 24, 2021

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Neasa raised her concerns with the standard of build-to-rent and highlighted that the minimum requirements for spatial set-outs in build-to-rent are fundamentally in conflict with the rights of people with disabilities.

Transcript:

I want to bring to the Minister of State’s attention something that has been raised in the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and not only by me. Some 13% to 15% of the population has a disability. Such people are more likely to be living in poverty and less likely to be purchasing their own homes. A considerable proportion of those people live in private rental situations. The minimum requirements for spatial set-outs in build-to-rent are fundamentally in conflict with the rights of people with disabilities. A 5% variance on spatial standards means that a studio or one-bedroom apartment of 37 sq. m can be brought down to 35 sq. m. That is a tiny amount of space without any room for storage. There is no generosity in that space. We already know there is an issue in accessing the home adaptation grant for private rental properties. There is no likelihood that the significant proportion of the Irish population who have a disability can seriously use the 65% of build-to-rent permission in my constituency. That is the outsized impact that build-to-rent has on areas such as Dublin Central.