I saw this question awhile ago on facebook, and now that we’ve been more involved with the Tiny House movement and have talked to hundreds of people at the Home and Garden Show in Minneapolis, I wonder even more. Some people we talked to were just curious, but there were many people who seemed to be on the fence as to whether they could do it or not. One of the big reasons for living in a Tiny House on a trailer is mobility, but the people I talked to mostly were looking for independence and a less expensive way to live. Obviously if you have children, space and schooling is something to consider. If you’re not willing to downsize, that’s a problem. But the biggest question we get is “where can I live in it”? Zoning concerns are a huge problem and it’s hard to pull the trigger on building a Tiny House if you don’t know where you can live in it. From what I understand, most zoning laws keep you from living in a Tiny House on a standard lot or in a driveway. If your Tiny House is on wheels, it’s considered a RV, and living in an RV is not allowed in most cities. If you put your Tiny House on a foundation, your Tiny House now must conform to HUD codes, which they won’t. So where are you going to go and where are you going to build? Yes, we have a solution here at The Sanctuary, restrictions here are minimal for zoning, but we are only a solution for a few homes. There are many communities working on these issues as we speak. What we are doing here is creating a community of people who want to start a shared interest in each other’s well being, and collective support for the whole community. The nice thing about a Tiny House on a trailer is that, if where you put it doesn’t work out for you, you can always move. I’ve got relatives trying to figure out what they are going to do when their retirement money runs out. Apartments, senior care, it’s terribly expensive and local and state laws have no financial reason to allow “Tiny Homes” on wheels to be placed on private lots so people can have a place for their aging parents or other reasons. Jay Shafer of Four Lights Tiny House Company and the founder of Tumbleweed Tiny Homes, has been battling the zoning issue for years. We shouldn’t be “governed” out of an affordable option of living. The “Grand Illusion” of having a huge house with a huge mortgage and working ‘till you die to pay it off, shouldn’t be a requirement to exist in America. Anyway, we’re all in this together, and if you’re looking at the “Tiny House” direction as an option, check out our website for events that might help you, or a place to live in your house. We can also direct you to builders and other people we know that are actually living in tiny homes right now. Good Luck!
Thanks, Bill