Finding Land For Your Tiny Home
Seems like you're ready to find yourself some land for your tiny home, right? Then, you’ve stumbled onto a bit of a goldmine, where we do our absolute best to answer the BIGGEST question in tiny house living; “How can I find land and what land is best for living in a tiny house?”.
So, let’s get started!
To start, for those wondering what land is best for a tiny house, we suggest the following;
Equestrian Land
Amenity / Pasture
Smallholding (farmland)
Now, let’s run through each land type, with each pro’s & con’s.
Equestrian Land For Your Tiny Home
Using equestrian land for your tiny home, i.e stables/livery yard, is a great option for numerous reasons.
It is probably anywhere from 1 acre to 10 acres, maybe more, giving you ample space to put a tiny home.
You will likely have water on the land, especially if it has a set of stables - this is a major win for you, as it will reduce the cost of having to install the most basic of essentials on your land.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, there may even be electric connected to the stables in order to keep the horses warm if it was previously used as a formal business.
Cost per acre = usually anywhere from £8,000 - £15,000 per acre. But this depends on the location, facilities (water / electric etc).
An upshot to all this is, that you can continue using the land as a business, where you rent out the land / livery / stables, to other local horse owners and bring in an income. You can expect £100 a month or so per horse, so it’s not bad money. Where it really comes into its own, is that you as the business owner of the livery stables, need to stay on the land and work likely from dawn till dusk, caring for the animals & providing security for them.
This provides you with a basis for living on the land, and having a right to protect the green belt (if it’s there) or the wider rural economy.
Planning Rules for Livery / Equestrian Land
We’ve put together a number of planning rules & framework that support this approach;
Section 5 of the NPPF is concerned with ‘Delivering a sufficient supply of homes’ and at paragraph 79 it notes: “Planning policies and decisions should avoid the development of isolated homes in the countryside unless one or more of the following circumstances apply: a) there is an essential need for a rural worker, including those taking majority control of a farm business, to live permanently at or near their place of work in the countryside; b) the provision of appropriate facilities (in connection with the existing use of land or a change of use) for outdoor sport, outdoor recreation, cemeteries and burial grounds and allotments; as long as the facilities preserve the openness of the Green Belt and do not conflict with the purposes of including land within it; …”
Section 6 of the NPPF is concerned with ‘Building a strong, competitive economy’ and at paragraph 80 it notes: “planning policies and decisions should help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt…”
At paragraph 83 ‘Supporting a prosperous rural economy’ it notes: “Planning policies and decisions should enable: a) The sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business in rural areas, both through conversion of existing buildings and well-designed new buildings; b) The development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based businesses; c) Sustainable rural tourism and leisure developments which respect the character of the countryside; and d) The retention and development of accessible local services and community facilities, such as local shops, meeting places, sport venues, open space, cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship”
New Planning Practice Guidance titled ‘Housing Needs of Different Groups’ (July 2019) provides some guidance relevant to paragraph 79 of the NPPF in the section ‘How can the need for isolated homes in the countryside for essential rural workers be assessed’? These include:
Evidence of the necessity for a rural worker to live at or in close proximity to their place of work to ensure the effective operation of agricultural, forestry or similar land-based rural enterprise (for instance where farm animals or agricultural processes require on-site attendance 24 hours a day and where otherwise there would be a risk to human or animal health or from crime, or to deal quickly with emergencies that could cause serious loss of crops or products);
The degree to which there is confidence that the enterprise will remain viable for the foreseeable future; • Whether the provision of an additional dwelling on site is essential for the continued viability of a farming business through the farm succession process;
Whether the need could be met through improvements to existing accommodation on the site; providing such improvements are appropriate taking into account their scale, appearance and the local context; and
In the case of new enterprises whether it is appropriate to consider granting permission for a temporary dwelling for a trial period.
It’s a lot to digest, so maybe pause & read it again…
In a nutshell, this is making numerous points, with evidence from the National Planning Framework, where you can legally & have the right to live in the countryside for rural reasons. If there is insufficient homes near the place of work, and it’s your livelihood (doesn’t need to be your full time one or only source of income), then you should have no issue to place a caravan (tiny home) or a temporary dwelling (tiny home) on the land.
So, there are lots of good reasons to go for equestrian land. It’s already been developed, so it’s not part of the local farming / agricultural output potential, making it simpler to transition either to another rural business or simply to keep it as it is. Plus, it may already have hardstandings, roads, paths and other infrastructure which you can enjoy.
The downside to all of this is, it will cost you MUCH more than a piece of amenity of pasture land. However, it’ll be significantly less than a piece of land which is ‘development-ready’ or ‘planning approved’, which can be 10s of £1000s more.
Amenity / Pasture Land For Your Tiny Home
This kind of land is usually plentiful, and can be found in ½-acre plots, all the way up to 1000-acre plots. You’re likely to want to look at just a few acres, but even an acre would suffice. The crux is, that your reason to be on the land needs to be justified. As with any piece of land, you must offer valid reasons why you are living on the land, and not in a town, village, city or typical dwelling.
This is where, having larger plots of farmland, or even a smallholding, can allow you to legitimately place a tiny house onto the land as a worker’s building, site manager's office or other temporary dwellings. This land is usually cheap, £5000-10,000 per acre, and if you are green-fingered, you may even wish to turn it into an orchard, a mini-farm, or plant trees. There are reasons, for environmental purposes & agricultural purposes, to allow you to set up a working farm / woodland, that is of benefit to the rural economy and as such, could allow you to live on the land in perpetuity.
Planning Rules & Framework Guidelines for Possible Rural Development for Your Tiny Home
Policy NR1 Countryside Management states that development will be supported which: • “deliver/assist in delivering other countryside-based enterprises and activities, including those which promote the recreation and enjoyment of the countryside, such as forestry, horticulture, fishing and equestrian activities, and crops for energy generation, which may fall outside the definition of agriculture.”
So, if you’re looking to start a mushroom growing business, start a woodland, manage a nature reserve, or something else of a ‘countryside-based enterprise / activity’ then you could be onto a winner.
Again, as above, you can state that the land may not be generating an income now, but in 3 years, it will bring in X revenue, and give you X amount of money to live on. The council will understand it’s a new venture, and likely expect you to make money from other sources. If you have an online job, or already work from home, then this can be the best way to get started.
Finding this kind of land is simple enough, we recommend the following websites.
Facebook groups / Gumtree / friends & family
We do recommend that you always visit the land you’re looking at, check it out, see if it will flood (google flood risk checker and see what zone it is in). See if it has public rights of way. See if it has any restrictive covenants on the land, where you may have to pay X% to the vendor of the land, if any planning is granted, or it may restrict development of any non-agricultural nature entirely.
Furthermore, when you’re looking to purchase, make sure that the land isn’t split into tiny ⅛ acre plots, with 20-50 of them on a field. These are a big NO NO, the owners are just looking to make a quick £££ as they’re selling them ‘prospectively’, hoping you may think that you will get planning permission. Likely, you won’t, along with the other owners of the land.
Leasing / Renting Land for a Tiny House
As we all know buying land, is one of the biggest hurdles to getting your tiny life dream started, because, let’s face it, they aren't making more of it - you can also consider leasing/renting land.
Here are our suggestions about what to do to find land, and what to do when you find it.
Contact local farmers - most may be happy for you to stay on their land with a minimal £200-300 per month rent inc utility / water. We always suggest making a firm contract or agreement, so you aren’t simply turfed off the land whenever they wish. Ensure that they include water, and if possible, an electric hookup. A ¼ acre, or even less, is more than enough for you & your tiny house, so there should be minimal inconvenience to them.
Reach out to people on Facebook groups; there is the Common Land Project which is looking people to join together for a community in Dorset.
You could lease a livery / stable, and start a business. From there, you can use the same rules outlined above. We do suggest getting a contract with the land owner and telling them of your plans.
The ‘Stealth Way’ of Tiny Living
We aren’t one’s to throw people under the bus, as it were, but we are very much aware of people & businesses up and down the U.K, WITHOUT planning permission, that have tiny homes, cabins, caravans, horse boxes and all sorts of ‘tiny-esque’ structures where people are living in them permanently, or even renting them out as holiday lets.
For people to not put in planning, and still rent them out, suggests to us that they would not invest in £100s of £1000s, to expect to be found by the council and be told to tear it all down. Wouldn’t you agree? For these farms, landowners and the like, to hide their units on 100s of acres, or even 5 acres, seems to be the done thing.
Now, we do not recommend doing this, as whilst it isn’t ‘illegal’ - you can’t be put into prison or fined, the council do have the powers to potentially request you to remove the tiny home from the land and to destroy any potential infrastructure you put in.
Here’s where the good news comes in. With our relentless design changes, research & development of material choices & appliances, we’ve made it easy for our homes to be put in almost any place, and to flourish off-grid. That is, with no access to electricity or gas. Water, of course, is essential, and you must have some way to bring it into the tiny house - via pump from an IBC tank or mains, but you can certainly live off-grid with our solar setup.
Our A-rated EPC Tiny Houses, that can be used as holiday cabins, glamping pods or to live in, are capable of year-round living with no external powersource - just the bounty of the sun! With the solar package and the battery backup storage, we estimate the tiny homes to use less than 1000kwh per year! So, if you were to go ‘stealth’, then this is feasible, and something we see other people do too.
Caravan / Lodges / Park Home Planning Rules
If you take a look at any number of caravan companies, they all build to something called BS 3632:2015 - this standardized the building, insulation, materials and fire safety rules for building ‘caravans’. For those that wonder why we’re talking about ‘caravan’s, here’s something to understand about the call-all term;
Section 29 (1) of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 defined a caravan as:
“… Any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted but does not include (A) Any railway rolling stock which is for the time being on rails forming part of a system, or (B) Any tent”.
Now, what this means is, that ANY structure designed for people to live in it, short-term or long-term, and is MOVABLE, by ANY means - not just by towing it, is technically a caravan. So, using this terminology - a tiny house is a caravan, as they are designed for human habitation and can be moved. The most interesting point to remember here is that it can be ‘transported’ by any means, such as lifting it up and putting it on a lorry to be moved. Equally, it also means that it DOESN’T have to be on a trailer, and can be built to sizes of no more than 20m long X 6.4m wide - with an internal height from the lowest point, to the highest point of 3.05m or less.
Currently, there are caravan companies exploring the idea of having loft bedrooms, all of which are around 4.13m in total height (including the trailer), effectively no different to our own tiny homes.
Why are we saying this? Well, it means one simple thing - planning is being approved up & down the country by caravan parks, so there’s absolutely no reason why you equally cannot get approval for your tiny home too! The key thing to say is, is that it is a caravan, when you put in planning, and not a tiny home.
Confusing - we know - but the planning department don’t know how to handle ‘tiny homes’ and it’ll simply confuse things. Stick with the catch-all term of ‘caravan’ and you’ll have a straightforward planning application, if you choose to submit one.
Don’t forget that placing a ‘caravan’ A.K.A tiny home in your garden, curtilage of the house, farmland and other agricultural areas are all commonly allowed if it’s use is secondary to the main residence.
So there we go - simple, easy planning & land options for you to get stuck into! So, if you’re thinking to find a bit of land, be it lease or purchase, and want to live minimally, off-grid and hideaway, you can certainly do it! However you choose to live Tiny - we’re here to help. We do hope this introduction to land, finding it, purchasing it, leasing it & going ‘Stealth’ has been of use.
If you’re ready to start your Tiny House Journey with us, then get in touch today to get your build started with a simple 10% deposit. We’re with you every step of the way, so do reach out and see how we can help.
Disclaimer: Whilst we do our best to check the accuracy of the information given in this blog, we are not responsible for any old, inaccurate or incorrect information and as such it cannot be solely relied upon, and we are not liable for any information given. We do always suggest that you do your own research and that you speak with the relevant authorities, planning consultant or other representatives that can help you with your planning information.
