City should allow people to live in tiny homes
This should be a legal option, Kieryn Matthews writes.
I want to live in a tiny home. It may not be everyone’s dream to live in less than 400 square feet, but as a university student studying environmental science in Vancouver it is my dream. I believe it’s the ultimate way to live sustainably and affordably in this city. There are many benefits to living a minimalistic lifestyle, from decreasing your carbon footprint and utility bill to spending less time cleaning. Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to live in a tiny home in Vancouver due to some restricting bylaws.
This needs to change. Interest in tiny homes is growing and although it is not a solution to the housing crisis, it is an option that needs to be addressed.
Why do I want to live in a tiny home? With less space comes less stuff. Living in a small space means living minimally, which saves money on belongings and rent. It takes up less land space and uses energy-efficient appliances. It’s often made of upcycled material and requires fewer resources to build. I get excited about the possibility of it being completely off the grid using renewable energy, rain water collection, and composting toilets. Adopting this minimalistic environmentally friendly lifestyle inspires and allows people like me to take a huge step forward in reducing our carbon footprint and spend more time outside engaging in the community.
So what exactly is a tiny home and why aren’t they allowed in Vancouver? A tiny home is typically less than 400 sq. ft on wheels and has all amenities to live in permanently. They are completely customizable and can be built for as little as $10,000 in comparison to a minimum of $400,000 for a new apartment. The problem surrounding tiny homes in Vancouver is there are no laws or regulations specific to building and living in them. City bylaws pertaining to laneway homes and recreational vehicles are used to prohibit people from living in them.
A tiny home is typically less than 400 sq. ft on wheels and has all amenities to live in permanently.
Bylaws state a house must be a minimum of 398 sq. ft, with a few zoning exceptions downtown for social housing. The other problem is a house on wheels is considered an RV or trailer, which you are not allowed to park and live in permanently.
These bylaws are not stopping people from living in tiny homes in Vancouver. Many people park their tiny home on a friend’s property and hope the city doesn’t notice. This is exactly what a couple did for almost a year before the city found out and they were told to move their tiny house out of the city.
The tiny house movement is a growing trend with several TV shows and companies dedicated to designing and building them. The city of Spur, Texas was the first city to remove the minimum house size law and build a neighbourhood entirely of tiny homes where people own the land and the home. Numerous tiny home villages are popping up across North America, including a proposed one in Abbotsford by Tiny Homes Canada. Why can’t Vancouver be the next city to allow tiny homes?
Although I love the idea of living in a tiny home, there are some real issues that need to be addressed. For instance, where can you legally park it? If it is not completely off the grid, where can you hook up to power, water, and sewage? Would building condos be a better solution for increasing housing density? Why not build a laneway home? There are two general answers to these problems. First, the goal is not to solve the housing crisis or force everyone into living in a tiny home if they don’t want to. Second, the real goal is to start a conversation with the city about how to make living in a tiny home a viable option for people who want to live in them.
The B.C. Tiny House Collective is an organization working on engagement, research and pilot projects surrounding the tiny house movement and they have some great resources. Tiny homes are not for everyone and on their own are not going to solve Vancouver’s housing crisis, but we need to talk about incorporating them into our city legally. Together we need to work toward creating bylaws that address living in tiny homes so one day I can live in one in Vancouver. Let’s imagine Vancouver neighbourhoods sprinkled with tiny homes filled with quiet, engaged and environmentally aware students like me.