I’ll admit that I was perplexed when the concept of tiny homes first emerged. Old Trailer Truck Why would anyone want to live in such a small space?
Well, it turns out that there are a lot of advantages to living in a tiny house, especially if the tiny house is mobile.
Many people are turning to tiny homes to avoid paying rent and mortgages while still having the freedom to travel and move around.
I especially enjoy seeing people transform old vehicles such as school buses and camper trailers into cutting-edge tiny homes.
And the one I’m about to show you today is no exception!
This Peterbilt trailer truck may not look like much from the outside, but the inside would give many luxury condos a run for their money.
The truck’s living room looks like the inside of a yacht, or perhaps the glamorous lobby of a five-star hotel.
The interior features sleek cabinetry, beautiful countertops, air conditioning, and two flat-screen TVs.
It’s hard to believe this luxurious bathroom is inside a trailer truck!
It even features a full-size shower with a stone bench seat!
The master bedroom is absolutely stunning.
I don’t think I’d have any problem watching TV or sleeping in that big, beautiful bed.
The cost of this trailer truck transformation is unknown, but it’s obvious that it would have been expensive. Even if this isn’t something you’d do yourself, it’s a lot of fun to look at the pictures and get ideas for tiny homes. I was hesitant about the tiny house concept at first, but if it looked like this one, I’d move in a heartbeat!
Planning Laws & Planning Permission for Tiny Houses UK
So the good news for those who are planning to place their new tiny house in their back garden, can do so without planning permission, as long as the size doesn’t exceed 65 x 22 ft. (19.8m x 6.7m), this is because their current legal definition is classed as a caravan. The main requirement by law is that members of the household should use the tiny house as an ‘additional living space’, which means renting out the home would not be an option.
The tiny home cannot change the land it is sited on and must fit within the land of the house. It cannot be placed outside of this space, such as outside of a gate or the house’s overall ‘curtilage’, otherwise planning permission will be required. If you’re looking to purchase or rent land for your home, planning permission will be required if the tiny home is going to be a permanent fixture on the land, just like you would with a normal home.
There are some grey-areas within this regard of ‘curtilage’, especially for those of you that live on a farm and plan to/already keep farm animals, as the tiny home can in some cases be classed as a dwelling for farmers. We feel the best thing to do, to clarify this further, if you wish to go down this route of not requiring planning permission, which is known as ‘Permitted Development’, is to simply contact your local planning officer.
For all planning permission enquiries, it really is best to speak with your local planning office, as they can give you the best advice. Ensure that you get EVERYTHING in writing, as we’ve heard of stories where one planning officer gives the green light to something – verbally – only to have a new officer come in and rubbish the project.
