OVER 900 SUBMISSIONS from the public were submitted following a four-week consultation on planning permission exemptions.

Over half of the submissions by the public were made in relation to the proposal to exempt modular-style homes or garden cabins up to a size of 45sq/m.

Currently, planning exemptions allow a 40 square metre extension to the rear of a property once it’s attached to the house.

The Department of Housing has said the submissions were “predominately supportive”.

The proposals would also allow attic conversion with the usual planning permission requirements.

It would mean that potentially thousands of small building projects and renovations could move forward without consultation.

Government is seeking to introduce these exemptions to free up its Coimisiún Pleánala, which is experiencing delays in its approval process over large numbers of what politicians believe are “unnecessary” applications. 

The government first mooted making modular homes in gardens exempt from planning permission back in February, sparking huge debate on the subject. 

The move is being spearheaded by John Cummins, junior minister in the Department of Housing with responsibility for planning permission. 

Speaking today, Cummins said the feedback will “help shape our proposals, including plans for modular-style homes to the rear of the dwelling”.

He added: “I have always said this measure will only be appropriate in certain settings and with conditions that will be outlined in the draft regulations.

“This will reduce unnecessary planning applications, free up local authority resources for larger-scale developments while also allowing homeowners to proceed with small-scale projects more quickly.”

Following a review of the 922 submissions, regulations will be finalised and brought before the Joint Oireachtas Committee and the Oireachtas. 

Any update to Exempted Development Regulations will require positive resolutions by both Houses of the Oireachtas before it can be signed into law. 

‘Serious risks’

However, housing charity Threshold has said that the proposed changes could “pose serious risks”.

Threshold said it is concerned about “substandard garden units being rented out in the private rental market without appropriate inspections and protections in place”.

While a spokesperson said Threshold “recognises the urgent need to increase housing supply”, it warned of “potential unintended consequences”.

While Browne said the intention is not to expand the private rental market through the new measures, the spokesperson said it is Threshold’s “strong belief” that many of these units could be rented out without the usual planning or safety frameworks, or tenancy protections, in place.

“In Threshold’s experience, those who privately rent garden homes are often, incorrectly, treated as licensees, provided with little to no tenancy protections,” said the spokesperson.

Threshold said safeguards will be needed to “protect renters from living in potentially sub-standard and unregulated housing” and that any new exempted development, such as a garden home, that enters the private rental market will need to comply with the Housing Standards for Rented Houses.

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These Regulations set out statutory requirements for room size, heating and sanitation.

Threshold added that the exemptions could lead to greater gaps in official data on the number of garden homes and their location, which could place “significant pressure on local infrastructure systems not designed to accommodate increased housing density”.

Threshold said exempted garden home developments could provide a “key opportunity for older people to continue living in situ in familiar surroundings”.

However, it also warned that garden homes may “unintentionally expose older homeowners to undue influence from family members, or third parties, seeking to benefit from their properties, placing them under pressure to vacate their homes or build a garden home for rental purposes”.

It has proposed that garden homes should only be permitted for use by carers or family members.

The charity is also calling for “explicit safeguards” to ensure that any decision to relocate to garden homes by vulnerable older homeowners is made with their informed and voluntary consent.

Threshold’s National Advocacy Manager, Ann-Marie O’Reilly said: it is “crucial that efforts to address housing supply do not inadvertently undermine housing security or even undermine the intended benefits of the increased supply itself”.

She said Threshold looks forward to working with the Government over the coming months to “ensure that a rights-based approach to housing quality and the highest level of tenancy protection is entrenched in this proposal for exempted developments”.