Today with David McCullagh
Changes to rules: ‘Beds in sheds’ to be fully rentable on open market
21 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What new rental opportunities are available for homeowners?
But first, homeowners will soon be able to rent out modular units in their back gardens after the Tornished agreed to expand the rent-a-room scheme to cover these types of dwellings. A proposal will go before Cabinet today to grant planning exemptions for modular homes of up to 45 square metres in back gardens. But there are serious concerns...
that these measures could open the door to poor quality and expensive rental units. To discuss this further, I'm joined on the line by Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South Central and party spokesperson on housing, Seamus McGrath. And I'm also joined by Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Midwest and party spokesperson on housing, Owen O'Brien. Good morning to you both. Thank you very much indeed for joining me.
I might start with you, Seamus. Homeowners will now be able to avail of the rental room scheme for units in their back gardens.
Chapter 2: What concerns exist regarding the quality of modular rental units?
Can I rent out my shed?
Yeah, good morning, David. So as you know, this is due to be brought to Cabinet today and we have a little bit more detail on the proposal now, but obviously there is still some distance to go on this. What the government will be announcing is a policy intention and there will be some distance to go in terms of bringing this into law. No, you cannot rent out your shed.
This will be subject to very strict terms and conditions. There will be a certification process involved here in terms of fire standards and building standards, and there will be a notification system in place to the local authority as well. David, the background to this, as you know, is a severe shortage of rental accommodation. We have to come up with proposals here.
We are being berated week in, week out by the opposition that we're not dealing with the emergency that there is in housing and rental accommodation. These are proposals that we are putting forward. It will be subject to further discussion through the Oireachtas, but I think it's important that we provide options there for people who are seeking rental accommodation.
The current rent-a-room scheme works quite well, for example, for single people, providing them with accommodation, for many students, for example, and this is just an extension of that scheme. It won't be a free-for-all. There will be serious terms and conditions and restrictions in place It is based on a principal private residence, for example. That's one important point to make.
And it is going to be subject, as I say, to a certification by a professional. And I think that's also an assurance in terms of the standards that will apply here.
And are you clear yet, Seamus, and I appreciate that the new rules haven't actually been published yet, but are you clear on who will do that job of checking that this accommodation is up to standard?
Well, I think it will be an approved professional through some of the approved bodies, I suspect. I don't have the detail on that, but it will be a certified person qualified in already certifying building controls, which is already a process that is well and truly in place. As I said, there will be a notification to the local authority as well.
So it's not a case that these will just start popping up and we won't have control over this. It is a provision that will be subject to review as well. But look, I do understand here some of the concerns may come from neighbouring properties and so on like that.
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Chapter 3: How will the certification process ensure safety and standards?
But in terms of the tenants' protection, and I understand that is...
central discussion here in terms of what provisions there are for tenants currently David there's nothing stopping you or me if we have the space in our garden from building a room onto our house and renting it out on the rented room scheme that is the current rules that are in place and we can do that but you'd have to get planning permission yes of course you'd have to get planning permission but what we're doing here is going over and above that we are including a strict certification process by professionals in the construction field so that they can confirm that these units are up to standard from a building regs point of view
OK, well, I'll bring in Eoghan O'Brien. Morning, Eoghan. Good morning to you. Now, as I said, we have not seen the regulations or whatever is going to be announced by Cabinet, but we do have a pretty good steer in the media this morning, including from Micheál Lehan on the News Bulletin there. Do you have reservations about this proposal?
Well, firstly, Sinn Féin has long argued for increased flexibility in our planning code to allow for freestanding residential extensions for family members, whether somebody looking to right-size or a family looking to provide accommodation for their adult children.
In fact, we tabled amendments to the Dublin City and South Dublin development plans back in 2018 to give effect to that, but it was blocked by government parties. When John Cummins, the Minister of State responsible for this initiative, announced his intention February of last year, He said that that's what this measure was for. It was for family members, not for private rental stock.
And in fact, they debated him on RT radio and said we would work with him on that if that was his intention. What has now transpired is something radically different. And it does give me very grave cause for concern. So the first thing is it's no longer just for family use. It's now for private rental stock. Two, we do not know any of the details.
In fact, notwithstanding Micheál Nahann's good reporting, there are very conflicting reports in other newspapers as to what may or may not be in the regulations. And crucially, not only do we have the possibility of the proliferation of large volumes of poor quality modular units,
But the government is proposing that these people will have no tenancy rights whatsoever, that they would be licensees. And it's important to understand the law. Seamus is right. If somebody is renting a room in somebody else's property and sharing their bathroom and sharing their kitchen, it's a license, although those licensees should have some rights. And currently they don't.
But under Irish tenancy law, if you have exclusive occupation of a dwelling where you have your own bathroom, your own kitchen, your own space, you are automatically a tenant. And what government is proposing to do is not just introduce very potentially problematic exempted development regulations in this area,
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of the proposed changes for tenants' rights?
What's your reaction to what Eoin O'Brien said there? Firstly, about the proper scrutiny by the Housing Committee, would you be in favour of that?
Yeah, look, first of all, I somewhat welcome Eoin's contribution there. It doesn't appear to be outright opposition to this. And he's called for scrutiny and he's called for detailed discussion, which I would certainly try to facilitate. Obviously, we do want to progress with this because we are under severe pressure to provide additional accommodation.
And if we can work together on that, I'm sure we can facilitate that level of scrutiny. Absolutely. In terms of the delays that Eoin mentioned there, I think that's a good thing. This is not rushed by government. We have thought about this very carefully. We have considered this inside out and we are trying to come up with a set of proposals that will work.
We do have to increase rental accommodation provision. We have to provide options to tenants. As I said, the current rental room scheme works quite well. It provides options for certain tenants, such as short-term tenants, individuals, students and so on.
Sorry to cut across you, Seamus. There is a difference because if somebody is renting a room in a house that the landlord, for want of a better term, lives in themselves, presumably the house will be kept to a certain standard. That's not necessarily the case if it's a modular home out in the back garden.
yeah i understand the point you're making david but what we're talking about here is from now on these units that will be made available under the rental room scheme under this system will be subject to certification that is going over and above what's currently there there is no certification under the rental room scheme now albeit it's in the private
residential structure that the landlord themselves lives in but that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be of a good quality what we're talking about here is is a separate ancillary independent unit that will be certified and it will be up to a certain standard in terms of that and look i do think the language we use here in terms of racking and stacking i think we need to be careful here
If Owen is asking that we have proper scrutiny and proper detailed discussion and that we can work together on this, that's something we facilitate. But we do have to be moderate in the type of language we use here. We do not want to be scaremongering or sending out the wrong signals here.
No, but we know that it is happening, Seamus McGuire. We know that it is happening in some places at the moment.
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Chapter 5: What are the key differences between family use and private rental of modular homes?
But there is an exemption from certification for building control, crucial things like fire safety, for single residential units. Now, when we see the regulations, we'll know for sure. But all I'm hearing in the news reports is an obligation to be compliant without any certification. And because it's exempt to development regulations, there are no checks and balances by the local authority.
Well, I would say this, and this is to respond directly to Seamus. The delay here is government. It's, like I said, 2018 since we first proposed a better version of this. It's 15 months since the minister proposed this. Only four weeks ago, Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael were fighting with each other, saying they were going to introduce this to cabinet and then withdrawing it.
So let's get the regs. Let's undertake proper scrutiny. Let's make sure we don't create a new subcategory of renter with no rights at risk of bad exploitation for poor quality expense. Well, let Seamus come back on that.
Can I just clarify, and I appreciate none of us have seen the detail here, but my understanding is, just to clarify that point around certification, my understanding is that is absolutely the case in terms of fire and building regulations. These will be treated as new structures
and they will be subject to that certification I think that's a very important point and I appreciate Owen hasn't seen that detail any more than I have but I obviously have had certain briefing on it so it is important to stress that point in terms of that but look I again would point that the delay in bringing these forward is a good thing because we we do have to ensure that these are brought forward in a way that they have been carefully considered we will have further discussion on this and the points around you know tenants and their rights and so on like that are discussions we can have at the housing committee
But it is important that we move forward. It is important that we bring new ideas to the table here. We have to think outside the box in terms of providing new accommodation. We can't wait for our traditional methods of delivery to deliver the kind of units that we need. There are people out there, as Eoin and I both know, who need accommodation today. So government has to move on this.
OK, Eoin O'Brien, I mean, you're not opposed in principle to freestanding accommodation in back gardens if it's for families. If the level of certification is as suggested by Seamus, if the level of protection for tenants is as suggested by Seamus and you're able to talk this through in the committee and go through all the legislation, is there a chance you might support this?
Well, there will be no protections for tenants. The government has made it clear in all of the media briefings this morning that that these arrangements will not be tenancies protected by rent regulation, protected by security of tenure. They will be licenses and licensees have no rights whatsoever. And again, it's not just that government is going to extend
the rental room arrangements to these, they're going to change the law to strip what otherwise would be tenants of any rights. So I don't see anything or hear anything of what Seamus has said that addresses that. But look, again, I'll make the point.
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Chapter 6: How does the government plan to address the housing shortage?
OK, further discussion. Sounds like it might go on for a while. But anyway, Seamus McGough, Fianna Fáil, Eoin O'Brien of Sinn Féin, housing spokesperson for the respective parties. Thank you both very much indeed for joining us.