Tiny Houses - The Future to Affordable Housing
After a good chin wag with a lovely young lady who wanted to discuss tiny houses for the homeless, we got to thinking about homelessness, the housing market and why there currently isn't enough housing to go around. As the cogs turned, we began wondering why the current 'affordable' housing doesn't meet the demand, nor does it meet the quality we could be building to.
After several back and fourths, I wanted to share our thoughts to inform and potentially combine what we all may have already been thinking - why isn't there enough truly affordable homes in the UK? And can a tiny house be the solution?
The Facts
The population of England has doubled from 30.5 million in 1901 to 67.8 million people in 2020.
Research from The National Housing Federation found that 3.6 million people are living in an overcrowded home.
2.5 million are unable to afford their rent or mortgage.
2.5 million are in "hidden households" were they cannot afford to move out of, including house shares, adults living with their parents, or people living with an ex-partner.
New House Builds
Over 170,000 new homes were built for the year ending June 2019. While this is an 8% increase compared to 2018, the number of new homes which the government classifies as affordable was only 57,485 in 2018-19. This shows that while on paper, we can see progression annually, the reality is that 57,485 affordable homes for 3.6million people isn't good enough.
How 'Affordable' is Affordable Housing?
Affordable housing is classified by the government as a home that's sold at 80% of the average market value. For example, if you live in Bristol where the average home costs £331,706, an affordable home will be sold with a price of around £270,00.
When you look further into who is eligible for an affordable home, you soon see that a large proportion of people aren't able to fit the criteria. In short, a small percentage of these people aren't eligible for a mortgage due to being a single parent, disability or unable to find a secure job. Another major problem is that most people can’t afford the deposit to get started. Since we have previously covered this issue in a full article, here's a link to learn more about the eligibility of getting a mortgage for an affordable home.
https://www.thetinyhousing.co/blog/2021-property-and-the-tiny-house-solution
Other Forms of Affordable Housing
There are other affordable housing forms, including housing associations, property rental, and shared ownership schemes with housing associations being the bulk of affordable housing on the market.
The National Housing Association estimated that around 3.6 million people could only afford to live decently if they were in social housing - almost double the number on the government's official social housing waiting list.
Social housing rents are on average 50% cheaper than from private landlords, contracts are more secure, and many properties are designed specifically for older people with mobility issues, the federation said.
Affordable Housing Standards
Currently what's on offer, isn't as energy efficient as they could be. They are not considering the environment, and most certainly don't have their customers in mind. If the developers chose solar, air or ground source heat pumps, and eco-friendly materials to build their homes, we would be drastically reducing our carbon footprint and saving millions of households hundreds of pounds each year.
While this is a lengthy subject in itself, I will attach a bit of bedtime reading should you want to know more about the current building industry. PDF Download
What's The Solution?
To review, there aren't enough houses being built creating an endless list of families who are living door to door or in cramped spaces with parents or friends. Those who can scrape together enough to purchase one of these affordable homes are instantly being rinsed of their money with unnecessary bills due to the lack of interest in building houses with eco-friendly materials.
We need a solution to poor housing standards and a way to build houses quickly, more efficiently and affordably to house millions of people in a short period of time.
We need homes with a high R-value to ensure they don't lose heat quickly, are fitted with solar, water recycling systems, composting toilets and wood burners for little to no energy bills, and are of an affordable price.
It's funny that all of this sounds very familiar????
Oh, yes, of course, a TINY HOUSE!
Tiny Houses are a winner in all aspects. They are beautifully designed with both families and couples in mind allowing everybody to live comfortably in a tiny house. More importantly, they are affordable and offer freedom to the owner reducing any worries of being tied to a mortgage their entire lives. It's also a greener way to live with healthier options for ourselves as well as the planet.
Tiny House Benefits
High-Quality Insulation
Compact Living to enable more people on a small plot of land.
Affordable! Average house price UK £256,000 - Our Tiny Houses are 21.4% of the average market price at £55,000.
Eco-friendly - Kinder materials, solar panels, air or ground source heat pumps.
Comfortable Living - have everything you need!
More disposable income
There's One Tiny Problem
Tiny house enthusiasts understand that we need to live with a smaller footprint, reduce our energy needs etc. But we can't due to laws stopping us. As of now, a tiny house has no laws which make living tiny difficult for many. If you're lucky enough to know a farmer, be a farmer or have finances to purchase a plot of land, then all is fine and dandy. However, if you're the average Joe looking for a first time affordable property, you may find it a little tricky to live out your dream until new laws come into place.
What Needs to Change?
As with other countries, they haven't lobbied for new laws surrounding tiny houses, they have merely edited current laws that we need to be doing here in the UK.
Right now, the closest law that applies to a tiny house is those of a park home.
The only difference is that a tiny house is 3.6-4m tall whereas a park home is 3.05m tall - from floor to ceiling. That means if we collectively work together to change a park home's maximum legislated size from 3.05m to 4m, we will be able to live tiny!!
Think about it. Most people want to live in the form of community, with like-minded people. Does a park home residential site, really look that different from what a tiny house community would? Put together allotments, decentralised energy systems via solar and/or wind, green spaces to meet and congregate, a shared space for those working from home or to relax and read a book. If we repurpose or build new park home sites, with tiny houses on the plots, it suddenly becomes more achievable - doesn't it?
Note* While we are aware that this isn't a complete solution as you can't also put a park home just anywhere, it opens doors, puts tiny houses on the map and is a great way to get started. Imagine passing this legislation and building hundreds of tiny house sites across the UK???
Are There Other Methods?
For sure there is! We believe. By simply building a tiny house to minimum space standards, you can place these homes legally wherever a regular house would fit. Some smaller houses will also be accepted by certain councils who don’t follow minimum space standards!
Our goal is to continue developing the Endura to create a ‘home’ model with around 10 being placed on top of a brown site within walking distance to a town centre. Could you image new build homes with two bedrooms that are a fraction of the UK’s affordabl housing price??
How Can You Help?
To get the ball rolling, we need your support!! It could be as simple as signing the petition when the time is right. Alternatively, if you have some vocals that you love to share, you could be a part of the voice, helping us grow our support. To be a part of the change, contact (leanne@thetinyhousing.co) to join our group and learn how you can help us make the change.
Tiny Housing - The Future
When this law changes, this is how we envisage the use of tiny house living:
Tiny House Communities: Making this minor change will allow us to create park home sites using tiny houses more quickly. Hundreds of sites could be arranged across the UK for an environmentally friendly lifestyle and thousands of new affordable homes for all.
Tiny House Terraces: Need to live close to the city centre but want to get onto the property ladder while reducing your energy bills? We are looking at tiny house terraces with communal gardens and shared allotments. Live green yet be close enough to your office job.
Additional Living Accommodation in small villages: We currently live in the sticks and know how much spare land there is in the UK. A farmer or landowner could rent plots for tiny houses more easily with this new law, allowing people to own their home in the country with the option to move it when they are ready.
That's it from now. All those facts and figures have given us a headache! We're going to take a well-earned tea break (I hope there's some biscuits left!) and look forward to hearing from you!
