HOUSE ABOUT IT
I live in tiny wooden shed I built myself in my mate’s back garden – I’ve stopped paying rent & save £600 a MONTH
A MAN who lives in a tiny wooden shed in his mate's back garden insists he's saving at least £600 a month.
Chris Marsh quit renting conventional houses five years ago and has lived in miniature eco homes ever since.
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Last year he decided to take things one step further and build one of his own, reports.
He now spends his days in the 140 sq ft property in the grounds of his pal's property in Riding Mill, Northumberland.
While Chris pays a fee to use the small plot of land, he is no longer a tenant paying a landlord rent in a traditional sense, and he is completely mortgage-free.
His monthly expenses come to just £230 - hundreds of pounds less than when he rented a two-bedroom house in Hexham.
About £80 of that goes on electricity and £150 pays for the plot - but water is free as his pals that own the land are on a standard rate.
While at his old place, where rent alone cost £800 a month, he spent £80 on electricity, £70 on gas, £25 on water and £160 on council tax.
Chris reckons that if he were still there today, this would have doubled as the cost of living has gone up.
The 40-year-old, who now keeps his underfloor heating on all day, said: "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.
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"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.
"If you take your rent, council tax, utility bills, I'm saving at least £600 a month living this way."
Chris's tiny timber home, which cost £50,000 upfront, sits about 60ft from the land owner's house.
It has a mezzanine bedroom, a spare bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living space.
At 140 sq ft, it is significantly smaller than the average 656 sq ft British home and much easier to heat.
Chris, who runs Tiny Eco Homes UK, said: "My electricity 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."
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