Increasing housing supply by building back cabins in back gardens is unlikely to make much difference to the housing crisis, according to an industry expert.

The Government has suggested that back garden cabins and modular homes could be exempt from planning permission regulations in order to increase housing supply.

However, on top of criticisms that this could lead to badly built structures, the Finance Minister has now also warned that log cabin owners may face an extra property tax.

Two construction workers installing a roof covering on a manufactured log home in winter with a Cat TL1055C Telehandler in Speculator, NY USA . Image: David Nelson / Alamy. 3 February 2020

Senior lecturer and housing policy analyst at TU Dublin Dr Lorcan Sirr told The Pat Kenny Show that this is “only logical”.

“If you add an extension to your house or you convert the attic or in any way beautify it and make it better – which would include putting a log cabin in the back garden – you're adding value to the property,” he said.

“Therefore, it’s only logical that, if your property tax is based on the value of your property, then your property tax is likely to increase.”

'Niche solution for a niche group of people'

Dr Sirr said he is sceptical about current estimates on the amount of log cabins or modular units could be built in the Greater Dublin area.

“I suspect, looking at the kind of lobbying and the information around this that there’s room for up to 350,000 of these in the greater Dublin area is just nonsensical,” he said.

“I mean, it’s a very niche solution for a very niche group of people, I think."

Garden Log Cabin under Construction. Image: Johnny Jones / Alamy. 29 June 2014

According to Dr Sirr, there are systematic reasons as to why these back garden structures need to be regulated.

“If you’re adding people to the total household capacity, you are going to add pressure onto the water system,” he said.

“What a lot of people don’t realise is that the greater Dublin area – so Kildare, Meath, Louth, Wicklow and Dublin – is already at 99% water capacity already.

“It doesn’t take much to tip it over the edge, so the idea of tens of thousands of these I think would probably have people in [Uisce Éireann] panic.”

Dr Sirr said there have already been multiple large-scale developments refused their applications due to water capacity concerns.

He also said that “supply isn’t the silver bullet that we think it is”, as house prices actually have much more to do with ECB rates and wages.

Main image: Stock picture of housing in Lexlip, Co Kildare taken from a Helicopter.