Episode

Will garden cabins actually help fix the housing crisis?

Podcast
The Explainer
Published
May 1, 2026
Duration seconds
1095
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://shows.acast.com/the-explainer/episodes/will-garden-cabins-actually-help-fix-the-housing-crisis
Audio
https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/66f2a0897a3d63d20ff54509/e/69f49a4e8466468ab03fd8a1/media.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/the-explainer-1063834/episodes/will-garden-cabins-actually-help-fix-the-housing-crisis
Markdown
/podcast/the-explainer-1063834/will-garden-cabins-actually-help-fix-the-housing-crisis.md

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Summary

The government has announced plans to let homeowners build habitable units of up to 45 sq metres in their back gardens without planning permission, and to rent them out under the Rent-a-Room scheme. It says the move will ease the housing crisis, but critics warn it could create a wave of unregulated rentals where tenants have almost no rights. We're joined by Robin Mandal, former president of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and vice chair of the Dublin Democratic Planning Alliance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.