Housing charity Threshold has expressed concern at Government plans to exempt modular homes in back gardens from planning permission.
The Cabinet approved the exemption at its weekly meeting on Tuesday and decided modular buildings and extensions would also be included in the rent-a-room tax exemption, which allows the owner of the principal house to charge rent of up to €14,000 a year tax-free.
Threshold’s national advocacy manager Ann-Marie O’Reilly said tenants of modular homes would be licensees and would not be afforded the same rights and protections as renters are under the Residential Tenancies Act.
“The people who live in these homes will be licensees, who essentially have no rights, no recourse to justice if something goes wrong,” she told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.
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“They’re not protected from rent increases, they can be given a moment’s notice to leave the property, and that really needs to be addressed before we create even more of these situations.”
A licensee has permission to reside in the property, but they don’t have any rights to be in the property, she explained. “So, usually when we think about a licensee, we think about people who are renting a room in the owner’s own home. So it makes sense in that situation, it is the landlord’s own home, and you’re very much sharing the space together.
“It makes sense that it may be a temporary situation. But if you’re renting a stand-alone unit that’s separate, you’ve got a lot more autonomy, and in fact, we’ve had clients come to us who are living in current homes, who’ve had to go to the [Residential Tenancies Board] RTB and the RTB has recognised their rights as tenants.
“But we’re now being told, well no, they won’t be tenants, they’ll just have the permission to be there until the landlord changes their mind.”
O’Reilly also questioned how the authorities would ensure modular homes meet new building regulations.
“We certainly hope to see some requirement for the property owner to make the local authority aware at least that a unit is being put up in the back garden.”
Meanwhile, Pat Dennigan, chief executive of the homelessness charity Focus Ireland said there “was a place” for modular homes in back gardens.
He had “concerns” about the rights of people living in them and the quality of the structures.
“I think there is a place for them in the right circumstances. We would be concerned about tenants’ rights and ensuring they are in the proper conditions; concerned about the quality of those homes to ensure they are not just makeshift.”
It would be “useful” if those living them had the protections of the Residential Tenancies Board, he said.
Dennigan was speaking at the publication of Focus Ireland’s five year strategy, Turning the tide on homelessness, in Dublin on Wednesday.
