Spoiler: They all involve work.

South Island Tiny House. Photo provided by Cori Holmes.

I don’t like to brag, but for the six years that my husband and I lived tiny, the tiny house was almost repo-ed once, we had to move it stealthily two times at night to avoid detection and had a handful of random people off the street spot our house and ask to see inside. Practically nothing momentous happened.

So I mean, pftt, our tiny house journey was a total breeze.

Don’t let the tv shows, Pinterest boards and idyllic tiny house Airbnbs fool you, it’s not easy. And plenty of people agree with us. Just in New Zealand, there have been cases of people getting locked out the property where they are building or a local council telling someone their tiny house is in breach of the Building Act. And this happens in cities around the world. And I feel for them. But there is help!

TINY HOUSE LIVING IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED. PERIOD.

Julie Jacobson, said she realised how tough finding land for alternative housing was four years ago… “I thought it wouldn’t be difficult to find someone who would let him put it on their land for a bit, but it was impossible.” (Samantha Gee- https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/124172450/finding-land-a-big-issue-for-tiny-house-owners-as-expo-raises-profile)

So without further ado, and in response to this article (quoted above), here are some tips that we have learned along the way, some by sheer luck and others by bad luck. So take notes and learn from us.

1. Don’t max it out.

BIGGER is not always better. If you don’t want people dobbing you into the council, DON’T BRING ATTENTION TO YOUR TINY HOUSE. Keep it low key, don’t build a monstrosity. Who knows, maybe down the line you will need to get under a tree to park, or need to get your tiny house down a long narrow driveway, build your house with options! A big blue tiny house 10 metres long, 3 meters wide and 4 meters high will stick out like a sore thumb and will attract all the grumpy neighbours who have nothing better to do than complain. So do yourself a favour and think of your future tiny-house-living-self who is just looking for some land to rent.

2. Actually advertise

Take advertising for a plot of land seriously. I know, it is super hard to finish your tiny house build, move out of your old place, AND look for a place to park. It’s a lot. Been there done that. BUT, it must be done. Don’t half-ass your land search. Post to all the Facebook groups, subreddits, tiny house land websites, use all Instagram hashtags, visit all the RV parks. Print all the posters and all the flyers. Tell literally everyone you know. Make a BIG effort and you will reap the rewards for months or years.

3. Network

Everyone has a network. When you are starting your tiny house journey, don’t keep it a secret. Tell your friends, family, coworkers, high school/ college friends, former coworkers etc. I personally would try making friends with people with land, who have rich parents or own farms.

4. Keep the Wheels

I don’t understand people who want removable trailers for their tiny houses. I couldn’t live like that- too risky. We made sure that our tiny house could be moved in less than 1 hour. All we needed was to unhook the plumbing, the electrical wiring (if you have any), drop all the jacks and hook it up. We moved our tiny house in less than an hour twice in the past five years.

5. Have a PLAN B

Don’t wait for shit to hit the fan to think of a plan B, whether that is having another location to move to, options about housing or just a good excuse. Think of these things BEFORE you are put under pressure. I would even suggest thinking of your breaking point. How much are you willing to spend or fight to stay in place? Have a numerical value in your head and stick to it. We always had a plan in our heads should a council worker rock up to our house as we sipped homebrew on the deck in front of our tiny house.

Option 1: “Oh, I don’t live here, I actually live in the big house down there. This is just my office- you see no bed! (this is an inside joke because no one can seem to figure out where our bed is when they come to look at our tiny house, we even had to label it.)

South Island Tiny House. Photo provided by Cori Holmes.

Option 2: “Omg I am so sorry- I am just trying to get my financing in place and I am submitting my building plans to council in a few weeks promise!”

Option 3: “I don’t live here, I am just travelling/ staying at this Airbnb/ house sitting/ I am actually a ghost- I don’t even have a mailbox! See I pay my taxes in such and such a place, here is my ID and some mail sent to my PO BOX I just happen to have…”

Option 4: Have a great hiding spot in your tiny house. And just hide until they leave.

6. Hide Hide Hide

Don’t put your tiny house, whether is moderately sized or huge, in clear view of other houses or a road. This is so important to avoid nosey people, mad/bad types or neighbours who want to complain. Use fencing, bushes, trees, hills, camo print, long private driveways to your advantage. And if a great spot opens up without any of these things, sorry to break it to you but it’s not great.

7. Get creative

When looking for land, the simple exchange of money isn’t all you could offer. Suggest these things (with or without money) for a place to park: babysitting, gardening, housesitting, watching/feeding animals, cleaning or you could use your skills in other ways!

8. Research

Get to know the laws, building codes, by-laws, loopholes, and legal precedents for wherever you want to park. Set up a google alert for tiny houses and your city/district/council/region to stay up to date. And if a county or city is particularly unfriendly to tiny house dwellers- RUN. Unless you plan on being the next Erin Brockovich of Tiny House Movement that is, in which case, good for you!

9. Peace out when you need to

Before you move to a new tiny house parking spot, please for the love of god draw up a legal contract. Relationships, handshake agreements and casual arrangements go south so frequently it’s not even funny. So protect yourself and ALWAYS have a clause where if you get asked to leave by the city, council, landowner or whoever, you won’t be on the hook to pay until the end of the agreed time. If you need to find somewhere new- just leave. Sometimes it is better to live to fight another day.

10. Get involved

When we built our tiny house, I spent more time explaining about the tiny house movement to random workers in Bunnings than I did actually building the tiny house. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but seriously, back in 2015 in New Zealand, no know knew what the hell we were doing, including ourselves. But there is a huge community around the world of tiny house enthusiasts and dwellers. So get involved. I started a tiny house facebook community in Dunedin, chances are there is one in your area. If not start one. And speaking of getting involved, make sure you donate or help out at your local school, volunteer at a community garden, help out at a community gig, join a club, don’t just be a hermit in your tiny house. If people know you, like you and can count on you, you will not only have an easier time finding land but will also help you keep the spot you have!

So in summary, tiny house life ROCKS, but finding land is a challenge. That is why after 6 years, 7 moves, and so many amazing memories we decided tiny house living wasn’t for us anymore. Funnily enough, we quit tiny house life after we secured our own land. Maybe we liked the challenge of finding a place to park too much?

Although we don’t live tiny any more, we appreciate the lessons we learned and want to help more people gain the independence, financial freedom and lifestyle benefits from living tiny.

And yes we still have the tiny house. It’s on Airbnb if you want to visit.

10 Tips to Help you Find Land for Your Tiny House