Thread by @otrosnosotros

This is the floor plan of a studio apartment, the entrance is at the bottom of the image and the only actual window is at the top. The unit is about 37sqm which is the absolute minimum that is legally permissible for this type of unit.
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Let’s go through the plan, 1st stop the entrance area: Upon opening the door there’s a bit of wall to the right & a door to access the bathroom, there’s just about enough space between the door and what seems to be the wash / dry area to leave your shoes, wet coat? Good luck. 2/

Walk into the bed space (not a bedroom as there’s no door separating you from the entrance nor the main living space). The space in front of your bed is basically a corridor with a wardrobe & utility (washer/dryer by your bed?) no space for much else. 3/

The sleeping area is in the middle of the floor plan which means no window to the outside, it will have a window to the kitchen though. Do you sleep in a bedroom with a door and a window? You’re living in luxury. 4/

The living-kitchen-dining, separated from the sleeping area by a flimsy sliding door has enough space for a small couch, a 5-unit kitchen (fridge, sink, hob & 2 storage units) & a 2 person table. Try to imagine where you might put any of your personal belongings. 5/

The tour ends there, this studio has no balcony so if you are looking for some head space outside you must leave the unit and go to a communal space or head to the street. There is no alternative. 6/

This miserable unit is possible because of deregulation of design standards for apartments, specifically SPPR8, namely #BuildToRent. Apartment schemes since 2018 have been designed with a high proportion of these types of apartments: single aspect, no storage, no windows. 7/

While lobbyists sold folks like @MurphyEoghan the idea that these types of apartments were specifically for a “young and increasingly internationally mobile workforce”, the government is now looking to bail out developers who produced plans with these absurd apartment types. 8/

They intend to forward purchase schemes with sometimes 70% studios & 1-bed apartments from these developers who designed schemes availing of the absurd BTR policy to fit as many units as possible inflating land values due to the increased densities now possible. 9/

What’s particularly alarming is that the government is planning to buy these schemes to use them for social housing, creating a new generation of substandard, homes with no dignity that the taxpayer is being forced to buy for whatever amount it costs the developer to deliver. 10/

Now if you think that SPPR8 1-beds might be better you’ll find that’s not the case, see this example where all 1-beds have the bedroom window facing a common circulation. No privacy, no dignity. This is the future of housing under this government: bailing out market failures. 11/

Imagine living, sleeping, waking up, going about your life in a space that all your neighbours can see; housing policy has very real implications on people’s lives.
Bailing out #BuildToRent for social housing has serious ramifications that the Gov does not seem to care about. 12/

13/ #AssetUrbanism #HousingDisaster #BuildToRent #ProjectTosaigh #LandSpeculation #HousingFinancialisation #HousingCrisis