Minister Grants Permission For Capsule Units
Minister Diallo Rabain has granted planning permission for nine prototype capsule units for emergency housing in the west end, with the permission granted for a limited period of four years.
The letter from the Minister said, “I have carefully considered the record of appeal, and I have decided to uphold the appeal and grant planning permission for a limited period of four [4] years.
“In evaluating this appeal, my statutory duty requires me to assess the proposal against the provisions of the Bermuda Plan 2018 as a whole, balancing the urgent national mandate for transitional shelter with the vital planning protections owed to our local communities. I have carefully assessed the initial technical refusal, the formal letters of objection from the Boaz Island community, and the Bermuda Housing Corporation’s [BHC] subsequent supplemental submissions dated May 26, 2026. The objections raised by local residents are valid, deeply understood, and respected.
“Communities have an absolute right to expect that any development introduced into their neighbourhoods is structurally resilient, environmentally sanitary, and protective of their privacy. It is the Ministry’s role to ensure that innovation is never weaponised at the expense of the community’s standard of living.
The Minister said he is “granting final planning permission for a strictly limited period of four years,” noting that it is subject to the enforcement of the a number of technical frameworks including, but not limited to, a 6-foot-high architectural PVC or wooden privacy fencing being installed, vegetation retention, parking and manoeuvring space for 11 cars and 12 cycles shall be established, provision for the control and disposal of storm water, traditional Bermuda accent colours being added and more.
The Minister’s letter added that, “Any consideration for a future extension beyond this 4-year limit will not be automatic; it will remain entirely conditional upon a formal evaluation of the units’ physical durability.”
Screenshot from the original planning application
The decision letter also stated, “The development hereby permitted shall begin before the expiration of three [3] years from the date of this permission.
“The development hereby permitted is for a limited period of four [4] years from the date of issuance of the Certificate of Completion and Occupancy, at which point the capsule units must be removed and the site restored, unless a formal renewal is granted based on the units’ proven operational compatibility and durability.”
According to a presentation given by the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities in December 2025 on the Modular Housing Pilot Program [PDF] the pilot program would allow Government to “test suitability for Bermuda’s climate; assess comfort, durability, and layouts; understand management and maintenance needs; evaluate suitability for different configurations and make evidence-based decisions.”
Speaking late last year in the House of Assembly, Minister of Housing and Municipalities Zane DeSilva said, “I wish to directly address the distinction between traditional construction and modular housing, as this has been the source of recent confusion. Permanent developments such as Battery Road, Harmony Terrace in Paget, the Chelsea Apartments, Middletown, and other similar sites are all being built with traditional or hybrid construction systems, designed for long-term occupation.
“Modular housing, on the other hand, will be used only in a highly targeted manner to address urgent and transitional housing needs. As part of the Emergency Modular Housing Programme, which we are currently developing, the Government will deploy a limited number of “capsules” and other types of modular units, on suitable land owned by the Bermuda Housing Corporation [BHC] and the Bermuda Land Management Company [BLMC]. These units are designed for short-term rentals, generally between six and eighteen months, while Bermudians in crisis transition toward permanent housing solutions.
“These will meet Bermuda’s building and safety standards and will be supported by wraparound services such as case management and social service referrals. Modular housing is therefore a bridge, one tool in a broader toolkit, and not a replacement for permanent developments like Battery Road.”
“Minister Diallo Rabain has granted planning permission for nine prototype capsule units for emergency housing in the west end”
The “emergency” was created when the PLP Government allowed rental units to become Air BnB tourist accommodation.
Fact! Not much of a housing crisis when they won’t freeze these greedy vacation rental units.
Who are you, or the plp for that matter, to tell home owners what they can do with their property? Property owners get no breaks on bills, supplies, taxes and every other rising cost yet you feel they are duty bound to provide affordable housing for you?
They shouldn’t but others are correct when you’re messing up housing on this island by doing tourist rentals, etc. Thanks!
HA! Any surprises here. Well of course the Minister has overridden the decision of Planning. Nothing new here.
Last fall DeSilva announced in grand style that these ‘modular’/park model trailers would be here and available for occupancy in February past. So, he had them ordered, paid for, to be shipped ASAP, without Planning approval, without site preparation, nothing but units bought with nowhere for them to go.
Then the NIMBY uproar started in a PLP stronghold area. UhOh! Whoops! We have done it again. Proceeded with something without thinking first.
So, where are these units right now? If they were on the island we would know about them. You can’t get these things, bigger than containers, offloaded, moved and hidden somewhere without people seeing them. Best guess is that they have been sitting in some expensive NJ storage lot while the storm of opposition blows over here.
Sooo….when will these units, supposedly ready for occupation 4 months ago actually be here and ready. Does October seem like a good date?
Well I never thought I’d see the day that Bermuda approves trailer parks as housing options.
This is not the first time the PLP Government has brought in trailers for Bermudians to live in. The PLP Government did the same about 20 years ago.
Hopefully this time the PLP Government will not spend over $1 million for each “low-cost” housing unit.
In 1998 who would have thought it possible for Bermuda to look as it does today in 2026?
The potholes are a minor issue.
Bermuda is broke. More than $500,000 per day just paying for the PLP debt
Nope, not the first time for mobile homes.
The first lot were brought in by an inexperienced Minister, backed up by equally ignorant civil servants.
They were brought in, shuffled from one storage place to another for over a year until a place was found to put them.
They didn’t last anywhere near their normal lifespan through abuse and neglect.
Here we are in 2026. Same band. Same song. Different verse.
Capsule units, trailer parks? Why? The complex on South Shore in Warwick has plenty of accommodation open. Use it instead of wasting more money which could fix our declining health system, the terrible state of our roads and more. We all know that won’t happen. More jobs for friends and family of the PLP
Believe it or not I proposed this idea to candidates from all three parties and a few independent candidates in the lead up to the last general election. I had examples of units by a company called Boxabl. These units being truly amazing as they literally unfold to setup and can just as easily be taken down and moved to another location. I had shown them the communication I had already initiated with the company and the company was very interested in this project. They even offered to take extra effort to make units with a higher wind rating as I advised them that hurricanes are an important factor for us in Bermuda. Clearly they have not done that kind of research and communication before hand. I can tell because the people at Boxabl recommended a perimeter wall as additional protection from hurricane winds. These guys are putting up a privacy fence… really? All in all I will reiterate what I said to each candidate that I spoke with. If the government is not prepared to take the necessary measures and implement these units properly then I will find better investors. So far I am not impressed and it’s shortcut after shortcut with this government.
Well, there goes the neighborhood!
What we have, as depicted, is worse than trailer park homes. It is what is known as ‘carpark’ camping, where as many trailers are crammed into as little space as possible.
Put them at tuckers town please.
Why Tuckers Town? The home owners of Tuckers Town pay a huge amount of land tax disproportionate to the rest of us.
Putting trailers in the area would greatly devalue homes and land tax values. This would cut income that Government desperately needs for things like junkets around the world.
The person pretending to be me was trying to stir emotions, nothing more.
Why are they any different from people at boaz island!! We pay or taxes to ok!!
Maybe because there’s no government owned land down there , unlike at Boaz .
Please stop pretending to be me.