Tiny House Movement

PasturesNew

Legally, you'd have about the same rights as any Travellers. If you can find somewhere that'll let you park/stay, then you can camp up for the night. To live on it you'd need a piece of your own land and apply for planning permission..... which is why it's not taken off.

While in the UK we have Residential Mobile Home sites .... and Holiday Caravan Parks, what we don't have is a crossover where you can pitch your mobile home and live in it. In the US they have Trailer Parks where, if there's a slot, you can move in and pay rent on the plot.

There are some rules that might allow a small handful of people to be able to rent a pitch and live all year round, these are very very limited, intended for caravan owners and so, in the medium-term even they aren't an assured solution. Such parks are also not going to be where you want to live.

If it were this easy [a] Travellers/Gypsies would be doing it .... Hundreds of regular people would be doing it.

Courgette

When she was growing up a friend of mine lived in an ex-portacabin on land her family owned. They had a compost loo, calor gas bottles which were delivered for the gas hob, a generator for electricity which was used very sparingly and only in the evenings. Wood burning stove for heat. Idyllic in summer, just freezing in winter. No idea how much it all cost but very little I expect. Location was 10 miles out of a decent sized city. I can't remember what their link with water was but I know it wasn't straightforward mains. No washing machine but they did have a bath but seem to remember it drained straight into the garden.

I think boats/barges look like quite a good idea in the uk.

The one thing that puts me off really is our rubbish weather because I think the outside would become much more important

Courgette

Pastures new - I think you only need planning permission for a permanent structure

Alchemilla

I have a little bit of land. If these are treated like mobile caravans then I would be allowed one only for a month per year on my land.

SnixT

Alchemilla wrote: »

I have a little bit of land. If these are treated like mobile caravans then I would be allowed one only for a month per year on my land.

What would stop you building a tiny house on a foundation and get planning permission if you already had a suitable plot of land?

PasturesNew

Courgette wrote: »

Pastures new - I think you only need planning permission for a permanent structure

No, you need PP for anything you want to live in.... and even, say, a caravan. You try putting a caravan in a field and they'll soon be on your case.

planning_officer

Courgette wrote: »

Pastures new - I think you only need planning permission for a permanent structure

No, it would be the use of the land that requires planning permission here. The use would be changing to residential, irrespective of whether it's a permanent structure or not, so planning permission is required - it's the same issue with living in any caravan or mobile structure.

Alchemilla

SnixT wrote: »

What would stop you building a tiny house on a foundation and get planning permission if you already had a suitable plot of land?

It has already been said but just because you have land it doesnt mean you can get PP for a home on it.

Of course there is not much can be done to stop you doing it without PP.

My neighbour has been doing it for nearly five years.

SnixT

I think even with the list of potential issues - If you could get this done it would give us all a much higher standard of life, mortgage free.

I looked at land for sale, there are almost no really small little pieces of land that would be ideal for a Tiny House. Instead I found lots of large pieces of land which come with large price tags.

Any suggestions?

Courgette

Alchemilla wrote: »

It has already been said but just because you have land it doesnt mean you can get PP for a home on it.

Of course there is not much can be done to stop you doing it without PP.

My neighbour has been doing it for nearly five years.

Yes, I think this is what confused me. I know of people who have built secret places and sat tight for 7 years. Hard to believe it's possible in such a cramped country