Tiny houses have become so popular that they have their own movement: The Tiny House Movement. Google it if you don’t believe me. It even has its own Wikipedia page! With so many people moving into tiny houses, you might be wondering if a tiny house fits you. Here’s a list of some of the pros and cons of a tiny house.
Before you move in, you should know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. A tiny house is more than just a small house… or should I say less? According to this graph by Statista, the average Canadian home size is around 6,400 square feet. In contrast, a typical tiny house ranges between 100 and 400 square feet in size. That’s a whole lot smaller.
Probably the biggest appeal to tiny homes is how cost effective they are. There’s no need to take out a mortgage in order to pay for it. Many people own their tiny homes so there’s no need to pay rent which is cheaper in the long term. Not only do you save money by not having to pay rent, but you also save on utilities. This is, there’s less space to heat or illuminate.
Tiny homes have smaller footprints because they use less utilities. It’s also fairly easy to switch to solar energy with a tiny home or even go completely off grid. Many tiny homes also have composting toilets so there’s no need for a sewage system.
To go along with a reduced footprint, tiny houses also promote reduced consumption. Let’s be honest, there’s not a lot of space in a tiny home which means you need to be more thoughtful when it comes to what you buy. Essentially, you can’t buy things if you have nowhere to put them so you have to be smart about your purchases.
Less space = less space to clean. Compared to a normal sized home, you’ll have less appliances to maintain and repair as well.
While not for everyone, one of the appeals of tiny houses is the ability to pick up and go whenever you please. Many tiny houses are built with wheels so all you’ll need is a truck to attach it to and a love for travelling.
While it may reduce consumption, it can be hard to part with certain possessions if you’re moving from a normal sized house to a tiny house. Unlike a simple declutter before a normal move, moving into a tiny house forces you to get rid of more than half of your existing possessions unless you get a separate storage unit. Less storage space also means not being able to buy certain things like items in bulk.
Along with less storage space, you also have less living space. While tiny houses are spacious enough for one or two people, it might be a bit uncomfortable for a family. There’s also a lot less privacy. You’re also limited to the amount of guests you have over unless you have additional outside space.
Some may argue that this is the point of tiny houses: to rely less on material things and return to nature. Many tiny houses have things like AC and washers and dryers; however, they may not be the most powerful. It’s likely that the AC unit won’t be able to compete with 30+ degree Celsius heat or that your 2-in-1 washer/dryer won’t fully dry your clothes, and you can completely forget about bathtubs. It’s little luxuries like these that you’ll have to learn to live without.
While there’s less space to clean, many tiny house owners find themselves cleaning more often than they used to in a normal home.
There are a lot of legal issues that you should definitely look into before buying a tiny house because depending on where you live, you could run into problems. Some places, for example, require homes to be of a certain minimum size in order to be approved for construction. You also have to deal with parking permits. While some places consider tiny houses houses, others consider them RVs which means you have to park in an RV lot. Make sure you do your research before you buy and whenever you change locations to make sure you’re abiding by the law.
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