House prices in Ireland could increase as an unintended consequence of the relaxation of planning rules for modular homes in back gardens, housing experts have warned.
Under a proposal being developed by the Department of Housing, planning exemptions are being considered that would exempt free-standing modular or cabin-style homes from planning permission.
Minister of State at the Department of Housing John Cummins has met officials in recent days over whether some types of exempted developments could be fast-tracked against the backdrop of planning laws passed last year.
The reforms aim to allow “intergenerational movement” between the main house and the smaller home.
‘Would the credit union give me a loan?’: Joe Duffy gets constructive about garden cabin housing plan
Builders engaging senior counsel at outset of projects in anticipation of substantial legal challenges – Ifac
Housing and infrastructure crises threaten investment, Central Bank warns
CIF warns on planning delays for house building
However, architect Mel Reynolds has pointed to some unintended consequences of such planning relaxations.
[ What are the proposed new rules on garden cabins and how might things change?Opens in new window ]
“If the idea of this scheme is to rent these rooms out, then you add an income stream to the property and the value of these houses will probably go up by about €150,000 or €200,000.
“If you own a house, that’s great, but it’s not so great for somebody who’s trying to buy a house in the second-hand market,” said Mr Reynolds.
He points to a study of the housing market in Brisbane, Australia, carried out by housing economists Mark Limb and Cameron Murray, entitled We Zoned for Density and Got Higher House Prices: Supply and Price Effects of Upzoning Over 20 Years.
This study found the relaxation of planning rules to allow for higher density development did not result in falling house prices or increased supply.
Orla Hegarty, assistant professor at the UCD School of Architecture, says evidence from the use of modular housing for Ukrainian refugees shows it is neither a fast nor a cheap option.
“I can only imagine how many people are on the phone looking for these homes today, but the production capacity is not going to increase overnight. Factories cannot increase their capacity that fast, and so the cost of making one last week is not going to be the same as it will be in six months' time,” Ms Hegarty said.
“Every little bit helps, and while it will suit some people, it isn’t a silver bullet,” she said.
She also mentioned the risk of repeating the “Beds in Sheds” phenomenon in the UK, where substandard accommodation was being rented out in landlords’ back gardens, often to low-paid, vulnerable workers.
“Here we saw people living in really poorly built sheds, sometimes with no shower or toilet facilities, issues with overcrowding, unsanitary conditions that created health risks and was totally deregulated. That isn’t in anybody’s interest,” Ms Hegarty said.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil the proposal is just “tinkering around the edges” of the housing crisis.
“After all the high-level meetings, your big centrepiece idea, it seems, is to relax planning rules to allow people to build cabins in the bottom of their gardens,” she said.
Ms McDonald acknowledged that “greater flexibility is needed in this, and we will work with the Minister to get the regulations in place, but to cast this up as the solution to the housing crisis simply highlights just how broken and how failed your response to the housing crisis is”.
Earlier, Mr Cummins said he does not view the proposal as a solution to the rental crisis.
“Personally, I don’t see this as a rental measure. I see it as the ability of people to be able to have that intergenerational movement that will allow people to live independently,” he told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
