Tiny House: Municipal Regulations Lagging

The idea of a tiny house being movable is hard for people to understand. A house must be a static structure, stay in place. I don’t know how much that influences people, but I think it’s interesting that people tend to get worried about tiny houses on wheels as being a gateway to Trailer Park Land. By and large they’re okay with RV’s or travel trailers being stored on a property, but for some neighbours, living in it is a different story.

Asian Journal: And yet we see municipalities seeking ways to accommodate more affordable housing options in their communities. Laura Hudson: Densification is a really hot topic here but the densification that’s happening in Vancouver right now is not affordable. It’s not making more dwellings more available to the middle class or young families or even people who are top earning professionals. It’s people who aren’t the top earning professionals who are building Tiny Houses, who are pursuing alternative dwellings or alternative ways of living, because they can’t afford to be in this city and have a lifestyle of any sort. They’re struggling. It bothers me that there is this separation in those discussions. We should be having those discussions together and I think Tiny Houses are a great way of bridging that. I don’t have the answers. Probably opening up some sort of dialogue between people who are tiny house owners, and municipal planners is a good way to start. I think there is a place in the community for Tiny Homes. Typically, these people are more self-sufficient, less resource intensive than most residents. We need a set of principles and guidelines from the municipalities that will help these obviously resourceful people become part of, and contribute to, a community that would otherwise be very difficult to access. The Asian Journal has been in touch with a number of municipal offices and councillors, to watch the development of this trend. We will report activities in this area from time to time.