{"id":109898,"date":"2025-10-29T07:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T07:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/109898\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T07:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T07:28:11","slug":"couple-apply-to-build-log-cabin-after-failing-to-find-rented-home-within-e1600-monthly-budget-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/109898\/","title":{"rendered":"Couple apply to build log cabin after failing to find rented home within \u20ac1,600 monthly budget \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evicted from their accommodation in Co Galway<\/a>, and struggling to find somewhere in the rental market<\/a>, Aiva Tuohy (24) and her partner Dylan Tone (27) are now building a log cabin in his parents\u2019 garden. <\/p>\n

The couple are for now living in Tone\u2019s parents house, near Mullingar, Co Westmeath<\/a>, while they await planning permission for the garden cabin. <\/p>\n

Tuohy works in e-commerce in Athlone and is studying online part-time for a business degree. Tone works full-time in construction in Dublin, while studying civil engineering on the side.<\/p>\n

The couple had been renting a house in a small village in east Galway, where Tuohy is from, before the landlord informed them last February she intended to sell up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did have a couple of months\u2019 notice about it, but it was instant panic. You\u2019re frightened. You\u2019re very anxious. We had sleepless nights thinking about where we were going to live; were we going to be homeless?\u201d Tuohy says. <\/p>\n

At the time going back to either of their parents\u2019 houses wasn\u2019t an option due to a lack of space. <\/p>\n

They immediately started trawling on rental websites and set their catchment area as wide as possible, looking not just in Galway, but in Roscommon, Longford and surrounding counties. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t fussy, we were looking at anything at all that was within our budget and within our means. We just wanted a roof over our heads,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe applied for so many houses and apartments through the likes of Daft.ie and different agencies. We emailed so many people, and we even got in contact with local councilors to see if there was something they could do to help us, because essentially, in our mindframe, we were going to be homeless,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Average monthly rents now twice those of Celtic Tiger peak, data showsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\"TheThe couple say they could not find a rental property within their budget around Galway or surrounding counties <\/p>\n

They stretched their budget to \u20ac1,600 per month, which would have had a serious impact on their cost of living. They both pay for college without grants, fund car travel and feel \u201ccrippled\u201d with taxes and tolls. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I don\u2019t understand why we\u2019re still here because of how bad it is,\u201d Tuohy says.<\/p>\n

The couple secured just one viewing out of more than 40 applications to various different houses and apartments. The landlord chose a different tenant.<\/p>\n

After that, they decided they could not continue with their plan to rent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne evening, I just had a chat with Dylan, and I said: \u2018Look, we can\u2019t keep doing this. We\u2019re not sleeping. We\u2019re trying our best. We\u2019re trying to work and better ourselves with college. We\u2019re just trying to just survive at this stage\u2019,\u201d Tuohy says.<\/p>\n

They asked Tone\u2019s parents about the possibility of building a cabin in their garden. His parents agreed and were happy for the pair to move back in with them while they got on with the build. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re more hopeful going down the route of a log cabin than we are of actually finding and renting a house within our means<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Aiva Tuohy<\/p>\n

The Government is finalising proposals that would allow people to build these modular-style homes, up to 45sq m (484sq ft) in size, at the back of homes without having to secure planning permission.<\/p>\n

Officials in the Department of Housing<\/a> believe the planning reforms will help tackle Ireland\u2019s housing crisis by allowing \u201cintergenerational movement\u201d between the main house and the smaller home. Many housing experts and Opposition politicians have been critical of the move, saying it is not a silver bullet and could end up increasing the cost of homes on the second-hand market. <\/p>\n

One Irish supplier, Loghouse.ie, says on its website that the popularity of garden rooms is \u201cskyrocketing\u201d across Ireland, but there is no official data telling how many are being built each year.<\/p>\n

For Tuohy and Tone, it felt like their only option.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re more hopeful going down the route of a log cabin than we are of actually finding and renting a house within our means,\u201d Tuohy says.<\/p>\n

They estimate they may have to live in this log cabin for the next decade. Tuohy says it will not be \u201cour forever home, but it\u2019s going to be a long term home\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Ireland\u2019s housing crisis: Why is there such a shortage of homes to buy and rent here?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The couple have picked out a two-bed unit with a kitchen and bathroom.<\/p>\n

They are waiting for an answer on their planning application before work can commence. While this marks progress for them, there is no certainty around planning permission. This adds to Tuohy\u2019s sense that \u201cyou\u2019re not in control of anything\u201d in the current housing market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing crisis does not seem to be getting any better. It\u2019s probably going to get way worse,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Asked if she feels forgotten by this Government, she says \u201c100 per cent\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel like you don\u2019t matter, and you feel like you\u2019re not being listened to. It just feels like the Government doesn\u2019t care what happens to us or how we live.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Evicted from their accommodation in Co Galway, and struggling to find somewhere in the rental market, Aiva Tuohy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,12466,4500,3662,11596,61,60,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-109898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage","10":"tag-galway","11":"tag-housing-crisis","12":"tag-housing-demand","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-westmeath"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}