A man who stopped living in conventional houses has explained how his tiny eco home in someone else's garden saves him at least £600 a month. Last year Chris Marsh, 40, built his own small wooden house to fit in a back garden on the outskirts of Riding Mills, Northumberland.
Chris says his only home expenses are £150 a month, which he pays to live on the plot. His electricity bills meanwhile is £80 a month, which is so low it allows him to leave his underfloor heating on for the whole day. His water supply is free, as the homeowners he pays to live in their garden being on a standard rate.
Chris, a builder by trade,told The Mirror he had previous rented a two-bedroom house in Hexham, Northumberland in 2018 for £800-a-month, with additional costs of £80-a-month on electricity, £70 on gas, £25 on water and £160 on council tax - he adds that the cost of bills would have doubled amid the cost-of-living crisis. He loves the freedom of living in tiny homes, as he can live where he wants without worrying about hundreds of pounds of his income going to a landlord, or being tied to a mortgage.
Despite spending an initial upfront expense for building costs of the 140 sqft home, long-term it saves Chris hundreds of pounds each month: "I'd always had a vision of building something and living in it and living in a garden rather than a traditional house. That's where the tiny house concept came into play.
"It just seemed to work for my needs and it's a very comfortable way of living. It's a minimalist lifestyle, absolutely. When you rent, it's just disposable money that you never get back really. Building something of my own was a bit of a win-win."
His initial mini-home was bigger than his current one, and cost around £50,000 to be built to a high specification and made from natural timber. Some of its eye-catching features include a mezzanine bedroom with a double bed, a spare bedroom with room for a mattress on the floor, a bedroom, a full fitted kitchen with an oven and two-burner hob and a living space.
The only absence from his previous conventional homes is a dishwasher, as there simply was not the room for it.
Chris started out in manufacturing, where he learnt how to build small homes himself. He launched his own business - Tiny Eco Homes UK - in 2017 and sells to 'people from all walks of life'.
His last property, at 180 sqft, could not fit in his current plot, so he had to build a smaller property to size.
The garden he lives in is just 15-20 metres away from the owner's house, and he thankfully gets on with them. "It's just a nice way to live without having the burden of worrying about hundreds of pounds going out every month," he explained. "I get on well with the owner which is obviously important.
"My electric has gone up quite a bit, like everyone's, but in a tiny house, you're essentially heating one room, and a small one at that. The building is very efficient.
"The underfloor heating is just left on all the time and it maintains that temperature rather than traditional houses I used to live in that took a lot to heat. Now, I'm always walking into a nice warm house. If you take your rent, council tax, utility bills, I'm saving at least £600 a month living this way."
When he moved into the property last year, his partner also moved in, who had never heard of the concept before. The pair had to assess what belongings were essential for the home, and luckily have been able to store a few bags of clothing in Chris' office and workshop nearby.
He sold his first wooden cabin to a couple who use it as their holiday home in Scotland, but his customer demographic varies widely. It's been a busy period for Chris and his team of five staff, building tiny homes across the UK for people.
The houses are fully mobile on wheels, so they can be moved around, but most of them are built bespoke to fit onto particular sites. "Every single person is from a totally different walk of life - age, couples, single, which is quite surprising. You would have thought it have appealed more to a certain generation.
"Everyone that's done it is kind of like, 'Oh, I wish we did this years ago.' It has totally changed the direction of their lifestyle. It's allowed them to be in the open and outdoors, in touch with nature. A lot more stress-free. I think some people find brick and mortar just doesn't work for them. And it allows them to be in an area that they want, in a nice garden, in the countryside. You manage to get in nice areas at a low cost.
"I'm free to up my lifestyle a bit more and not have so much disposable income going out, I manage to save."
Despite running his own successful business now, he's residing in a smaller home than what he started out in. But has plans to build his own unique tiny home on his own land in the near future.
"In two years I'm looking to buy my own land and build one with a totally different design and lay out," Chris added. "You'd think after building all these homes I'd end up in quite a big one myself but I'm still happy because it's got everything that you need really."
