3 Reasons to Feel Optimistic About Finding A Tiny Home Parking Spot…
There’s never been a better time to find a parking spot for your tiny home.
It’s been about 10 years since the Tiny House movement began in the U.S. These days, everyone knows about tiny homes, most people love them and more and more people want to host them. So here are three reasons you should feel optimistic about finding a parking spot for your tiny home…
Reason 1: Land owners are keen to rent their land
In Australia, we have many land-rich people who are cash-flow or time poor. Having additional rental income and potentially extra help on the property from tiny house renters is hugely appealing. As a result, more and more landowners are considering the option of renting out a spot for a tiny home.
For example, we had a client who was looking for a place to park his tiny house. He knew exactly where he wanted to be so he dropped flyers in the mailboxes of every property on the particular road he liked. Within a week he received three offers!
Reason 2: Councils are starting to come on board
Councils are starting to come on board the tiny house movement too. The housing crisis is putting a huge strain on Councils around Australia and many are beginning to recognise tiny homes are an obvious solution to this problem. Some Councils are setting a great precedent by completely changing their planning laws to allow tiny homes to be permanent dwellings, even on land that doesn’t have another permanent house on it.
For example, Councils like Esperance (WA), Mount Alexander Shire (Vic), and Surf Coast (also Vic) have opened their doors to tiny houses. Others are currently revisiting their planning guidelines with a view to allowing tiny homes for longer term occupation. Even tiny house villages are starting to pop up, like the one in Glen Innes (NSW).
In the Byron Shire, where we are located, a single tiny home on wheels is allowed on a property for long-term occupation if it meets certain guidelines. Following the recent floods, these laws have been relaxed further, allowing temporary dwellings on private land for up to two years. Check out the council website for more information.
Reason 3: It’s easier to search than ever before
With so many Tiny House Groups on social media, it’s easier to search for potential parking spots than ever before. Entire businesses have even popped up to help you find a parking spot. Here are several ways to find a parking spot…
Reach out to family and friends who may have suitable properties and enough space to house a tiny.. or know others who might.
Post on Facebook Groups such as your local community groups, rental groups and more specific groups like ‘Land and Tiny Houses to Rent or Buy in Australia’, ‘Tiny House & Residential Park Sites & Sitters Australia’, ‘Tiny House Marketplace’, ‘Tiny Houses Buy & Sell Aust’ etc - if the group admin allows such posts. Be sure to include a little information about your dream location, whether you'll be off-grid or not, some information about you and some pictures of your tiny house (or the one you intend to build).
Join parkmytinyhouse.com.au (for a low monthly fee) and contact Bry and her team. They are incredibly well connected throughout Australia - if they don’t have any land listings in your area, they may have more luck finding them than you! For both hosts and tenants they offer full support, lease documentation and careful vetting. They can also give advice regarding Council regulations etc.
Or you can go completely old school and try a local maildrop to landowners, like our client mentioned previously.
When looking for parking sites on social media, please be aware that land owners have significant expenses associated with owning their properties and further expenses preparing sites for tiny homes so you can expect to pay between $150-$250 per week in rent (location pending) + bills, unless you negotiate some sort of value exchange.
Should you look for a parking spot before you build?
It can be a great idea to know where you’ll be parking your tiny house even before you build so don’t be shy about putting your feelers out before you’ve pressed GO on your build. If you can secure a long-term position, the location may even help inform the design - you may change the orientation on the trailer, the window and door placements to make the most of views or enhance privacy, and the aspect of the sun may influence the design for passive solar advantage. Finding a park before building may also help reduce your stress levels and allow you to fully concentrate on your building and downsizing journey.
Of course, if you don’t know where you’ll be parking your house ahead of time, that's fine too. Houses can be designed in a way to accommodate a variety of potential sites.
So there you have it. It's all good news. There has never been a better time to look for a parking spot for your tiny and in the coming years it will likely only get easier as more Councils embrace the logical solution that is tiny homes. It's an exciting time!
At Uber Tiny Homes we have a range of tiny house designs suitable for all manner of parking spots... and there are more on the way! We also offer a Custom Design service.