House prices, mortgage rates and the demand for homes are continuing to skyrocket but what is the answer to the country’s housing crisis? Some experts believe it is modular housing.

We sat down with Dartford-based modular home firm Enevate Homes as it sees interest in these types of properties soar to find out what this means for the housing industry.

What is a modular home?

A modular home is a prefabricated building. This means it is constructed in sections or modules off-site, usually in a factory, as opposed to being built on-site.

Enevate Homes, a national and independent provider of modular homes, manufactures the components in a 150,000 sq ft factory in Wishaw, Scotland, using a steel framework.

Once built, the sections are delivered to the site and installed, sometimes using a crane, and can be placed however is needed, such as on top of each other to create a tower block or next to each other to create multiple houses.

Enevate Homes’ managing director Gary Mayatt described the process as putting together a jigsaw, as the parts all slot together.

He said the houses also come with a 60-year warranty and are all built to current design criteria and building regulations and codes.

What is the difference between a modular home and a traditional build?

The main difference between the two is the way they are built – modular homes can be constructed in almost half the time, are lighter and are built in a factory.

Enevate Homes, based in Priory Hill, Dartford, can produce an average-sized home in four weeks at its factory with two weeks of follow-on completion when on-site whereas it would typically take around 12 to 14 weeks for a traditional build.

The houses are built in a factory meaning there is also no reliance on weather, drying of concrete, availability of tradesmen, or other aspects associated with building on-site.

Enevate Homes also claims this process means the homes are of a higher quality and have more efficient building fabric resulting in lower running costs for the home.

Mr Mayatt added: “You would not take a car and build a car in a field. By building it in a factory you should get better quality units coming out.”

Modular buildings are also lighter as they use lightweight structures, have a reduced foundation cost and take less time to install on-site which limits disruption for other residents.

What is it like to live in a modular home?

Sarah Love moved into one of the first modular home developments in the county around six years ago as she and her husband were looking to downsize.

The 59-year-old said they bought a house from Enevate Homes in Walderslade by chance, as they were not actively looking for this kind of property.

Sarah said: “We saw it and we liked it. We were looking for somewhere in the area and this came up. My husband loved the concept.

“On the whole, I really do love living in this type of property. It is just like a normal house. It does not feel like it is going to fall down and it does not look any different.”

The new-build development in Peacock Rise of 15 homes includes five detached homes with three bedrooms, fitted wardrobes and en-suites, and five two-bedroom and five one-bedroom flats.

Planning permission was granted on the premise that time on-site was minimal due to the surrounding residential area meaning that non-traditional methods of construction were used.

The units were therefore built as modular homes using steel frames.

Architectural manager Paul McIntyre added: “By prefabricating the new homes off-site we are able to deliver cost and time savings far beyond those offered by traditional construction techniques.

“There are also the added bonuses of increased efficiencies, increased quality control, reduced carbon footprint and high performance in thermal, acoustic and air tightness specifications.”

Why is interest growing in modular homes? And how could it help solve the housing crisis?

Enevate Homes, which was founded in 2016, has seen its turnover jump from £3.9 million to £8.5m this year, with 250 homes being ordered in the last few months.

Mr Mayatt said the rise was because the firm had seen an influx of interest from housing associations as the demand to provide low-cost, social housing for people in need of a home continues.

He explained although building homes in a factory does have its costs such as rent and electricity it is not as much as running a building site as there are no site overheads.

As the process of constructing a house is cheaper, it is more appealing to firms such as housing associations which can also keep their costs low.

My Mayatt also believes interest in modular homes has grown because there is a labour shortage in the industry, so anyone who is available is more expensive but when running a factory this is not a factor.

At the same time, the government has encouraged these types of builds and set the construction industry a target of becoming the world leader in modular homes in the next 10 years.

But it has not always been this way. Mr Mayatt said the firm had battled to grow as many people did not fully understand the concept or what Enevate Homes was trying to do.

He added: “Despite the benefits of modular housing, many providers have been loss-making, with momentum stalling and leading to several companies falling into administration last year.

“However, the solution to the housing crisis appears to be gaining serious momentum since February this year with significant interest from ministers and housing associations.

“We have seen a significant uptake in modular homes which is vital, especially if the UK is to tackle some of its biggest issues, such as an ageing workforce, a mismatch between the supply and demand of new housing and the urgent need to gear up the economy to meet net-zero targets by 2050.”

Experts now think modular housing will play a major role in solving the country’s housing crisis as it can be built quickly, to a high standard, cheaper and on sites that traditional methods would not be able to.

Make UK Modular has calculated the industry will be able to build 20,000 modular homes by 2025 – equalling a fifth of the 100,000 annual shortfalls, following government targets of 300,000 new homes a year by 2025.

Mr Mayatt added: “The UK currently delivers just 10% of new homes using modern methods.

“We expect this to significantly increase in the coming years as we continue to see a pick-up in momentum.

“In four years’ time, the modular industry will be a significant part of how we deliver homes in the UK.”