A man is saving hundreds of pounds a month after giving up living in a conventional house and moving into a tiny eco-home he built himself in a garden.
Chris Marsh has lived in tiny homes intermittently for the past five years. Last year the 40-year-old created his own miniature wooden house to fit in a back garden.
He told the Mirror his only outgoings are £150 a month, which he pays to the owner of the garden, and £80 a month on electricity, which allows him to leave his underfloor heating on for the entire day.
His water supply is free, thanks to the homeowners, who he pays to live in their garden on the outskirts of the village of Riding Mill, Northumberland, being on a standard rate.
Qualified builder Chris previously rented a two-bedroom house for £800 a month, with monthly bills of £80 for electricity, £70 for gas, £25 for water and £160 for council tax.
He believes his outgoings on the house would now be double due to the rise in energy costs. And although he had to find the money to initially build the 140sqft house, he is enjoying the rewards of lower bills each month.
He 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.
"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."
Chris' first self-built eco-home was larger than the one he is in now, which cost around £50,000 and is made from natural timber.
It comes with a mezzanine bedroom with a double bed, a spare bedroom with space for a mattress on the floor, a bathroom, a fully fitted kitchen with an oven and two-burner hob, and a living space.
Chris started out in manufacturing and learnt how to build tiny homes himself, then started his own business, Tiny Eco Homes UK, in 2017.
The garden he lives in is just 20 metres away from the owner's house, who he thankfully gets on with. He said: "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."
Chris moved into the property in 2022 with his partner, who had never heard of eco-homes. The pair had to choose what to take with them when they moved and put other items into storage.
He sold his first cabin to a couple who use it as their holiday home in Scotland, and Chris now employs five members of staff.
The houses are built on wheels, so they can be moved around, but most of them are contructed to fit onto particular sites.
He added: "Every single person is from a totally different walk of life - age, couples, single, which is quite surprising. You thought it would 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."
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