By Rolanas Kutra, Eurodita Catalog Manager | Last updated: April 2026
Buying log cabins wholesale for the UK and Ireland involves sourcing factory-direct kits from an EU manufacturer, handling post-Brexit import documentation, and advising end customers on Permitted Development before you quote. Eurodita, based in Kaunas, Lithuania and founded in 1994, manufactures 12,000+ log cabin kits annually and supplies 200+ active dealers across 38 countries including active UK and Ireland partners, with no MOQ and 2–4 week lead times on standard models shipped from Kaunas. The winning formula for a dealer is factory-direct pricing, the right wall-thickness mix, and a logistics flow that treats GB, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as three distinct routes.
What Wholesale Log Cabin Buying Means for UK & Ireland Dealers
“Wholesale” in the log cabin trade means you buy factory-direct from the manufacturer, take title to the kit, handle (or arrange) import into your market, and resell — from a display site, a showroom, an online catalog, or as a factory drop-ship to your end customer. You are a distributor with your own margin, your own warranty relationship with the customer, and your own brand on the finished sale.
Two supply models dominate the UK and Irish market:
- Private-label (your brand on the kit). The cabin is manufactured to the standard Eurodita specification, but packaging, manuals and — where a dealer wants it — product naming carry the dealer’s own brand. This is the model most experienced UK and Irish dealers operate, because it decouples your retail brand from the manufacturer and protects your downstream customer relationship. See our private-label log cabin reseller guide for the full onboarding sequence.
- Branded distribution. The cabin ships under the Eurodita name or a co-brand. Faster to set up and lighter on marketing overhead, but less defensible long-term because your customers can source from any other Eurodita dealer.
Two shipment formats dominate the Lithuania → UK / Ireland route. Full-container or full-truck shipments (a 40-foot trailer loaded with a mix of 28 mm and 44 mm garden models, Twin Skin cabins, and occasionally an 88 mm mobile home) are the cost-efficient format for dealers running display sites with predictable weekly sales velocity. Single-kit flat-pack deliveries go direct to the end customer’s site or the dealer’s yard — this is the format that makes Eurodita’s no-MOQ policy useful, letting a dealer quote a single bespoke job and pass the logistics straight through. See our log cabin manufacturer no minimum order guide for how this flexes during onboarding.
Wholesale also implies obligations the end customer never sees: import compliance, VAT registration (GB, NI or ROI depending on your operation), warranty handling, and pre-sale planning advice. The rest of this guide covers each in sequence.
UK Planning Permission & Permitted Development for Log Cabins
Planning is the single most common reason a log cabin sale collapses at the end-customer stage. Dealers who understand Permitted Development (PD) close more sales because they can tell the customer upfront whether the project is a straightforward outbuilding or a full planning application. The rules below apply to England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate equivalents with similar principles but different thresholds.
Permitted Development for outbuildings (England)
Under Class E of the General Permitted Development Order, a log cabin used as a domestic outbuilding — garden office, hobby room, gym, summer house — can be installed without planning consent provided the project stays inside these limits:
- Maximum eaves height 2.5 m where the cabin is within 2 m of a property boundary — the single most frequently breached rule.
- Maximum overall ridge height 4 m for dual-pitched roofs (3 m for other roof forms).
- No more than 50% of the garden covered by outbuildings, extensions and other non-original structures combined.
- Not forward of the principal elevation fronting the highway.
- Incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse — not used as separate, self-contained sleeping accommodation.
Dealers often talk about a “10 m² / 15 m²” rule. These figures come from Building Regulations, not PD. Outbuildings under 15 m² of internal floor area are generally exempt from Building Regulations; between 15 m² and 30 m² they remain exempt if the cabin contains no sleeping accommodation and meets distance-from-boundary or fire-resistance criteria. Above 30 m² or with any sleeping use, full Building Regulations apply.
When planning permission is definitely needed
A cabin needs a full planning application when the building exceeds the PD height or footprint limits; the property sits in a conservation area, National Park, AONB or World Heritage Site; the cabin is used as an annex, holiday let or primary residence; or the customer’s PD rights have been removed by a prior planning condition.
What to tell customers at enquiry stage
A simple qualification script closes more quotes: “What’s the intended use — daily office, guest annex, storage, or holiday let? What’s the rough footprint? How close to the boundary? Listed building or conservation area?” Two minutes of qualification saves six weeks of stalled sale. See our dedicated log cabin planning permission UK reference for the full dealer walkthrough.
Ireland (ROI) Log Cabin Rules: Exempted Development + Planning Permission
The Republic of Ireland operates a different framework, codified in the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended). For dealers selling into ROI, three rules do most of the work.
Exempted Development: the 25 m² rule
Under Class 3 of the Second Schedule, a garden building is exempted development (no planning application required) when the combined floor area of all sheds and similar structures in the rear garden does not exceed 25 m², the structure sits behind the rear wall of the house, does not reduce the open rear garden below 25 m², and is not used for human habitation, business, or storage of fuel, oil or hazardous materials. Height limits apply: 4 m for pitched roofs, 3 m otherwise. The 25 m² is cumulative across all outbuildings — a customer who already has a 10 m² shed can only add a 15 m² cabin before hitting the threshold.
When planning is required in ROI
Over 25 m² combined, any habitable or commercial use, projects in front of the house line, or protected sites (recorded monuments, architectural conservation areas) all trigger full planning. Annexes and granny-flats almost always require planning in ROI, which differs from some UK Permitted Development annex paths.
Differences from the UK and dealer considerations
The ROI 25 m² combined threshold is more generous than the UK 15 m² Building Regulations exemption for a single outbuilding, but less generous than UK PD in garden-coverage terms. Dealers quoting in ROI should ask about existing sheds on the plot — the total counts. Irish customers often specify year-round insulated cabins because winter humidity and rainfall are higher than much of England, so Twin Skin (44-50-44 mm) and 88 mm assemblies do better in ROI than a 28 mm summer model. See our log cabin wall thickness guide for mapping customer briefs to thickness bands.
Post-Brexit Logistics: Shipping Log Cabins Lithuania → UK & Ireland
Since 1 January 2021, the Lithuania → UK route has been an EU-to-third-country export with full customs entries at the GB border. The Lithuania → ROI route remains intra-EU and is the simplest. Northern Ireland sits under the Windsor Framework (formerly the Northern Ireland Protocol) with its own paperwork.
EU → GB (England, Scotland, Wales)
Goods leave Lithuania under an EU export declaration and enter GB under a UK import entry. The dealer (or their customs agent) files a UK import declaration citing the relevant timber and prefab commodity codes. The UK Global Tariff sets post-Brexit duty rates that vary by commodity — confirm the effective rate with your customs broker per shipment rather than rely on a generic quoted percentage. VAT is chargeable on import and reclaimable under standard VAT rules.
EU → Northern Ireland (Windsor Framework)
Goods moving directly from the EU (Lithuania) to Northern Ireland behave as intra-EU movements for customs purposes — NI remains inside the EU’s single market for goods. Dealers importing from Kaunas straight into Belfast therefore avoid the GB customs entry entirely. For GB-to-NI movements, the Windsor Framework’s green (internal market) and red (at-risk of onward movement to EU) channels apply depending on trader authorisation.
EU → Republic of Ireland
The simplest route: intra-EU movement, no customs entry, VAT reverse-charge on B2B acquisitions, and the same FSC and CE documentation that accompanies any EU shipment. Ireland is often the easiest first market for a new dealer because the paperwork is minimal.
Incoterms: DDP vs Ex-Works
Two Incoterms dominate the dealer conversation. Ex-Works (EXW Kaunas) means the dealer takes title at our factory gate and arranges onward transport, customs clearance and delivery — lowest price, highest admin, appropriate for dealers with an established freight partner and broker. DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means Eurodita coordinates delivery to the dealer’s yard or direct to end-customer site with duties and clearance handled through our partner carriers — higher landed price, zero admin, suited to newer dealers or single-kit direct-to-customer shipments. Most UK dealers running display sites move toward EXW once volume supports dedicated freight partnerships; Irish dealers more often stay with DDP because intra-EU simplicity removes most of the EXW advantage.
A 40-foot trailer from Kaunas typically carries three to six garden-range kits, or one larger mobile-home kit plus accessories. Dealers should budget two to three working days of delivery transit from Kaunas to most UK destinations, and one to two days to Ireland, on top of the manufacturing lead time.
EUDR (2026) compliance
The EU Deforestation Regulation applies from 2026 and requires deforestation-free, traceable timber for products placed on the EU market. This is the regulation Eurodita’s FSC-certified supply chain is prepared to comply with. For dealers reselling inside the EU (ROI, NI), your due-diligence statement chain starts upstream with our certification.
VAT, Duties & Customs Documentation for Dealer Imports
VAT and customs are where margins leak. Dealers should treat each of the three routes (GB, NI, ROI) as a separate VAT and customs workflow — and register accordingly.
Post-Brexit customs entries (GB)
Every Lithuania → GB shipment requires an import declaration filed through HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS). A UK EORI number is mandatory for the importer of record. Typical documentation with each shipment: commercial invoice, packing list, EUR.1 movement certificate or origin statement, CE/UKCA declaration of conformity where applicable, FSC chain-of-custody references, and — for timber — species identification sufficient for the commodity code.
Timber species, commodity codes and certifications
Log cabin kits are generally classified under Chapter 44 (wood and articles of wood), with HS 9406 subheadings for prefabricated buildings supplied as complete structures. The specific commodity code affects duty, so confirm with your customs broker per product line. Eurodita’s commercial documentation identifies the dominant timber species (predominantly spruce, with larch on specific product lines). Every shipment carries FSC chain-of-custody references and, where applicable, CE declarations of conformity for structural components (glulam under EN 14080 being the most common). For GB sales, the UKCA regime coexists with CE — the UK has extended acceptance of CE-marked construction products for most categories, but confirm the current position with your regulatory advisor for each product family.
VAT on B2B imports and downstream sales
In GB, import VAT is payable at 20% on log cabin kits and can be accounted for under postponed VAT accounting (PVA) — declared and reclaimed on the same VAT return rather than paid at the border. This is a meaningful cash-flow advantage for dealers running regular shipments. In ROI, intra-EU acquisitions from Lithuania are subject to the reverse charge: the dealer accounts for VAT on their Irish VAT return under acquisition VAT and reclaims it simultaneously, with no cash payment at the border. Downstream, when the dealer sells to the end customer, most sales are standard-rated 20% in GB (13.5% or 23% in ROI depending on product and installation component). New-build residential supplies can qualify for zero rating or reduced rating in specific scenarios, but in practice VAT passes through to the end customer.
Eurodita Wholesale Terms: MOQ, Lead Time, Private Label
Factory-direct terms matter more to a dealer’s working capital than any other single commercial variable. Our headline terms, set against the pattern most EU log cabin manufacturers operate, are summarised below.
| Feature | Eurodita | Typical EU Competitor |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum order quantity | No MOQ — single cabin orders accepted | Many manufacturers require a full container or minimum annual volume |
| Lead time (standard models) | 2–4 weeks from order confirmation | Often 6–12 weeks at peak season |
| Lead time (glulam 135–220 mm) | Longer than standard (project-specific) | Frequently 10–16 weeks |
| Private-label supply | Standard option across the range | Typically reserved for high-volume accounts |
| Catalog breadth | 210 products across 13 wall-thickness bands | Frequently narrower with fewer thickness options |
| Certifications | FSC + CE (structural components) | Varies; FSC not universal |
| Dealer network | 200+ active dealers in 38 countries | Varies |
| Shipping origin | Kaunas, Lithuania (EU) | Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia or Poland typical |
No MOQ, 2–4 week lead times, private label
Eurodita accepts single-cabin orders, which is the most cash-flow-friendly policy in the market for a dealer running a discovery year: you can stock one 28 mm summer cabin, two 44 mm offices and one Twin Skin on your display site without committing to a full container of speculative inventory. See our how to start a log cabin dealership (UK) guide for the typical starter-catalog composition. Standard catalog models ship on a 2–4 week lead time from order confirmation; glulam projects in the 135–220 mm band run longer because of laminated-beam production scheduling. Lead time wins sales when a competitor is quoting 12 weeks for a comparable product, so communicate it at quote stage.
Private-label supply is a standard Eurodita option, not a premium tier. Packaging, manuals, display materials and product naming can be configured under the dealer’s own brand — the end customer buys your brand, not the manufacturer’s. See our best log cabin wholesale supplier UK reference for how to evaluate private-label terms across competing manufacturers.
Wall-thickness coverage for the UK and Ireland market
Our 13 wall-thickness catalog covers the full UK and Ireland commercial range: 44 mm for the garden-office volume category; Twin Skin 44-50-44 for year-round insulated use (strongest fit for ROI and Scotland); 88 mm for UK mobile homes paired with BS 3632 residential assemblies (see our mobile home dealership 2026 startup guide); and 135–220 mm glulam for premium residential projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need planning permission to sell a log cabin to a UK customer?
As the dealer, no — the planning obligation rests with the end customer and the property. But you should qualify every enquiry against UK Permitted Development limits (2.5 m eaves within 2 m of boundary, 50% garden coverage, no separate sleeping use) and flag projects that require full planning before you quote. Advising accurately at this stage is the single biggest source of dealer goodwill.
What’s the MOQ for UK wholesale orders?
There is no minimum order quantity. Eurodita accepts single-cabin orders, so a UK dealer can place a one-kit order for a specific end customer or stock a mixed selection for a display site without committing to a full container.
How long does delivery to the UK take from Lithuania?
Standard catalog models ship on a 2–4 week manufacturing lead time from order confirmation. Transit from Kaunas to most UK destinations adds approximately two to three working days on top, depending on carrier and destination. Glulam residential models in the 135–220 mm band run longer lead times; confirm at quote stage.
What about Ireland — are the rules different?
Yes. The Republic of Ireland operates under EU Exempted Development rules with a 25 m² cumulative floor-area cap for non-habitable garden outbuildings, compared with the UK’s percentage-of-garden coverage approach. VAT and customs are also different — Lithuania → ROI is intra-EU with reverse-charge VAT, while Lithuania → GB is a third-country import after Brexit.
Can dealers order under their own brand?
Yes. Private-label supply is a standard Eurodita option — packaging, manuals, product naming and display materials can be configured under the dealer’s own brand across the catalog. This is the default arrangement for most experienced UK and Irish dealers.
What documentation is needed for Northern Ireland delivery?
Under the Windsor Framework, direct EU-to-NI movements (Lithuania → Belfast) behave as intra-EU for customs: commercial invoice, packing list, FSC chain-of-custody references and CE declarations where applicable. GB-to-NI movements use the green/red channel system, which is a separate workflow to discuss with your carrier.
Are Eurodita cabins BS 3632 compliant for UK mobile homes?
Our 88 mm wall-thickness range is engineered to pair with BS 3632:2015 residential and BS EN 1647:2018 holiday assemblies when combined with the specified roof, floor, glazing and services package. BS 3632 is a whole-assembly standard, not a wall-only test, so coordinate the full specification with your Eurodita account manager.
How does Brexit affect lead times?
Manufacturing lead time (2–4 weeks standard) is unaffected because it relates to the Kaunas production schedule. Transit to GB has added a customs-clearance step compared with pre-2021 movements, typically adding 24 to 48 hours at the border under normal conditions. Plan your shipping calendar with a small buffer in peak spring and summer.
What is EUDR and does it affect UK/Ireland shipments?
The EU Deforestation Regulation applies from 2026 and requires traceable, deforestation-free timber for products placed on the EU market. Eurodita’s FSC-certified supply chain is prepared to comply with EUDR. For dealers shipping into the EU (ROI, NI), due-diligence documentation flows through the FSC chain-of-custody references supplied with every order.
Ready to start supplying log cabins in the UK or Ireland?
Eurodita manufactures 12,000+ private-label log cabin kits annually across 210 products and 13 wall-thickness categories, with no MOQ, 2–4 week lead times on standard models, FSC and CE certification, and established Lithuania → UK and Ireland logistics.
Ready to start supplying log cabins in the UK or Ireland? Contact our partner team to discuss your target market, volume, and logistics needs — no commitment required for an initial enquiry.
