Garden homes of up to 45 square metres – colloquially known as ‘shed-sits’ – are to be exempted from planning permission as part of government plans to increase housing supply.

In a joint statement, the organisations urged the Government to pause the proposals and engage with housing experts and frontline organisations to ensure that any new measures increase housing supply "without undermining renters' rights or housing standards."

Simon Harris said that while the garden homes should come under the Rent-a-Room scheme, going beyond that raises issues.

Sinn Fein’s Eoin O Broin said if the government gets this issue wrong, it will be difficult to fix.