The Government decision to ease planning requirements for modular homes will mean ‘shantytowns made of pallets’ popping up in people’s gardens, a housing expert has predicted. 

In a bid to boost rental supply, the Minister for Housing has brought a memo to Cabinet which would relax planning laws in relation to modular homes. 

If approved, modular homes would be an ‘exempt development’, which means home owners would not need planning permission for them. 

“It can be for a modular unit up to 45 square metres to be used as housing in your back garden,” TUD’s Lorcan Sirr explained on Moncrieff.

“Now, you must always leave at least 25 square metres of grass, garden, whatever you want to call it, at the back. 

“So you couldn't 100% cover your back garden.

“There still needs to be a minimum of 25 square metres. 

“But effectively, that's it; so, they've kind of changed the rules, whereas previously you'd need planning permission for that.”

Dr Sirr continued that neighbours will find it much harder to object and predicted many of the homes would be of poor quality. 

“If the neighbour starts to kind of get a load of pallets together and some insulation that they found in the skip and start to make their own shantytown, which I suspect is going to happen in a lot of cases, well, then that'll be a different kettle of fish altogether,” he said.

Main image: A modular home. Picture by: Alamy.com.