Why Tiny House Communities Don’t Exist

Reset A− A+ I’ve been thinking a lot about tiny house communities lately. It’s a frustrating subject because none really exist yet. Even the one underway in D.C. now is just a showcase of tiny homes.

In other words, it’s not an actual livable community. It’s still a good thing because it’s showing people how such a community would look and feel like. And hopefully this will get somebody that has the funds (and the heart) interested enough to do it.

But I now understand why such communities don’t exist. And it’s pretty simple actually. The funny thing is I found plenty that do exist. We can’t afford to live in them though. But why?

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Why Tiny House Communities Largely Don’t Exist

Because they’re not actual neighborhoods or communities at all.

They’re vacation spots. You know, resorts. Fancy cabin hotels.

Tiny House Communities as Residences Don’t Exist

Tiny house communities as residences don’t exist because business people can make way more money creating a campground or cabin resort instead.

And the numbers don’t lie. Those who have the money to build such communities would rather see better returns.

So let’s see. A little house in a community would rent for, let’s say, $600 a month in a good area.

Tiny House Communities Versus Campgrounds and Resorts

But a resort or a campground would make that much in three days or less.

So even if it sits empty for half of the entire year, the structure would earn the owners $3,000 a month instead of $600.

That’s $36,000 a year per unit versus $7,200. And then they’d argue that this creates more jobs.

But what about decent affordable housing for people who don’t desire to live in oversized homes?

One of my ideas has been to create mini tiny house communities in acreage neighborhoods where it might work with a small group of people pooling resources.

Have We Been Blaming the Wrong People?

This post’s conclusion makes me wonder, “have we been blaming the wrong people as to why little houses don’t exist?”

Sure, there are zoning and codes against them but these things truly have become the norm. It’s become majority of people’s choice.

Isn’t that why “normal” people usually freak out when they hear that we want to live in a tiny house? That is, until, they learn how awesome it can be.

We can’t just put a tiny house smack in the middle of a neighborhood where 2,000 square foot homes are normal because they will all freak out. And then we’ll hate living there because everyone will hate us.

My point is, there are better ways to do it already. There always have been. You can zone as an RV park, a campground, or a “cabin” resort! If you look, you can find those everywhere.

But the people who have the means to create a place like this would much rather earn around five times more money year after year. So what’s the solution here?

What do you think we should do to convince business people to fund tiny house communities? Better yet- how can we find ways to do it ourselves?

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Alex

Alex Pino is the founder of Tiny House Talk, a leading resource on tiny homes and simple living since 2009. He helps readers discover unique homes, connect with builders, and explore alternative living.

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