The tiny-house movement is an architectural and social movement that advocates for downsizing living spaces, simplifying, and essentially "living with less." According to the 2018 International Residential Code, Appendix Q Tiny Houses, a tiny house is a "dwelling unit with a maximum of 37 square metres (400 sq ft) of floor area, excluding lofts." The term "tiny house" is sometimes used interchangeably with "micro-house". While tiny housing primarily represents cheap, simple living, the movement also sells itself as a potential eco-friendly solution to the existing housing industry, as well as a feasible transitional option for individuals experiencing a lack of shelter. Some states in the U.S. consider any home under 1,000 sq. ft. to be a tiny (or micro) home.
This distinction is important as many people look to place tiny houses on empty lots. However, if a tiny house lacks any one of the necessary amenities required for a dwelling unit, the house is an accessory structure and must be placed on the same lot as a primary structure per the 2018 International Residential Code. There are a variety of reasons for living in a tiny house. Many people who enter this lifestyle rethink what they value in life and decide to put more effort into strengthening their communities, healing the environment, spending time with their families, or saving money.
Background
In the United States, the average size of newly constructed homes grew from in 1978 to in 2007, and further still to in 2013.
History
The precursor to the tiny house was the shotgun shack, a small, larger single-story building in use among urban Americans from the late 19th century until the Great Depression of the 1930s. Although few of these houses had more than two bedrooms, they provided accommodation for entire blue-collar families in Southern United States cities like New Orleans.
Henry David Thoreau and the publication of his book Walden are often quoted as early inspiration. The modern movement is considered by some to have started in the 1970s, with artists such as Allan Wexler investigating the concept of choosing to live in a compact space. Early pioneers include Lloyd Kahn, author of Shelter (1973) and Lester Walker, author of Tiny Houses (1987). Sarah Susanka started the "counter-movement" for smaller houses which she details in her book The Not So Big House (1997).
Jay Shafer...built his first tiny house in Iowa in 1999, and lived in it for five years. It was a hundred and ten square feet [10 m2], with a steep gabled roof and a porch. Tiny houses on wheels were popularized by Jay Shafer, who designed and lived in a house for two months and later went on to offer the first plans for tiny houses on wheels, initially founding Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, and then Four Lights Tiny House Company on September 6, 2012. In 2002, Shafer co-founded, along with Greg Johnson, Shay Salomon and Nigel Valdez, the Small House Society. Salomon and Valdez subsequently published their guide to the modern Small House Movement, Little House on a Small Planet (2006) and Johnson published his memoir, Put Your Life on a Diet (2008).
With the Great Recession hitting the world's economy from 2007 to 2009, the small house movement attracted more attention as it offered affordable, ecologically friendly housing. Overall, it represented a both microscopic and minuscule part of real estate transactions. Thus, only 1% of home buyers acquire houses of or less. Small houses are also used as accessory dwelling units (or ADUs), to serve as additional on-property housing for aging relatives or returning children, as a home office, or as a guest house. Tiny houses typically cost about $20,000 to $50,000 as of 2012.
Tiny houses have received considerable media coverage including a television show, Tiny House Nation, in 2014 and Tiny House Hunters. Bryce Langston from New Zealand created and hosts a YouTube channel that features international tiny homes and eco-friendly living, called Living Big in a Tiny House
Tiny houses on wheels are often compared to RVs. In Canada and the United States, these are called park model RVs if they do not exceed certain size specifications, namely in Canada and in the United States. However, tiny homes are held to state/provincial/territorial building codes. Park model RVs are held to standards set by the Standards Council of Canada or the RV Industry Association (RVIA). Tiny houses are built to last as long as traditional homes, use traditional building techniques and materials, and are aesthetically similar to larger homes.
Outside the United States
While the movement is most active in America, interest in tiny homes has been observed in other developed countries.