Where Can You Park a Tiny House UK?? | Vlogust ep.10
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- Опубліковано 9 сер 2021
- The question everyone wants answered! Where can you park a tiny house in the UK?
Well the simple answer is you can park it in many places but you can't live in it.
A tiny house in the UK is classified as a caravan so unless you have permission to park it somewhere then to be honest the only place is on a campsite with all the other caravans.
This isn't all bad news as camp sites are great! You just need to find one that will let you stay long term. Your dreams of living in a tiny house on your own land in the hills and having some chickens is, well, at the moment not going to happen.
Hopefully things change but for now at least if you want to live in a tiny house in the UK, a campsite is the way to go. Hope this helps!
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Governments and banks make it difficult to not be able to live in a house or apartment on purpose. They don't want people realising they don't have to work their ass off their entire life only to give most of their wages away to a landlord or bank. If too many people did it then you have less people working, then the economy suffers, it's much safer to keep people tied into a system wanting and buying stuff they don't really need.
I totally agree
This is exactly the truth!!! Thank you
Totally agree and it would put a pin in the inflated house market loosen supply and reduce rental prices landlord's nightmare
I always find the uk rules on tiny living so disappointing. We have so much land not being used, only waiting for big companies to buy it to make more money and use up more land and resources etc! It’s annoying for us folk who just want to tuck ourselves away in the woods and live as off grid as possible! Thanks for sharing your story!
Couldn’t agree more, but that’s the government we keep voting for and the capitalist system that we’re bred into.
It’s also ridiculous that you have to have a permanent address to be able to have a bank account to get a job or register a vehicle. It’s basically a system of you either have a crazy expensive house which you can’t afford so you’re forced into lifelong debt or you’re homeless and can’t have anything at all.
@@LivingTheTinyLife 100% - because heaven forbid you’re fully self sufficient!! One day things will change! (We can hope!)
@@LivingTheTinyLife HSBC are now doing bank accounts for homeless people, so it should apply to van lifers etc?
It is a pyramid scheme to make banks richer
I agree, it is infuriating! I just want to buy a custom designed tiny home for about 50k, plonk it on a piece of land that I would buy, install some solar panels and a perhaps a small hydroelectric generator if there is a fast flowing stream nearby, grow some of my own food etc. But this is made virtually impossible by today's stupid fecking laws, essentially forcing you to live in over priced houses, pay through the roof for energy etc. All about money and control as usual.
It's all so frustratingly difficult in the UK for people who have limited income and no family to help out with land or property to try and get out of the incredibly expensive rents, and impossible mortgages loop that keeps you poor forever. I've tried using my converted car to park up places to stealth camp, and even that is getting harder and harder as all places are putting up 'no overnight camping' signs. Who is it hurting? Makes me so mad. This whole big money system is so skewed to keep the rich rich and the poor paying most of their income to help keep this greedy minority scoffing at the money trough.
Well said. House prices are one of the main reasons why living is so expensive and nobody is building truly affordable housing because there’s no profits to be made. We moved into our house in 2020 and have looked back at what the rent would be today and it’s about 30% more than it was! That’s not to mention the energy costs, council tax and food prices. If we were still there we’d both be working all week long just to survive, I feel so lucky we found a way out of the madness of living in a house.
Can't a bunch of people get together, start a cooperative, buy land and assign each person tiny plots for people to put their TH on? Start a caravan park as a cooperative?
I suppose you could possibly look into that, there are a couple of tiny house communities in England. The difficulty I guess is finding enough people in the same area that are willing to do it and it’s probably quite a long winded process.
I had to move from North East London to Liverpool in order to buy a house. I now pay £280 a month for my mortgage on a 3 bed semi with 100ft garden. Couldn't be happier
That’s amazing, London is so expensive. Having lower outgoings makes such a huge difference to your quality of life, I used to spend nearly my whole salary on rent and bills, now I’ve quit my job entirely and can spend more time doing what I actually want to!
Thank you!!!! So so refreshing to finally find a tiny home video from a real person. So so many have the money to buy land, or those rich relatives you mention. Thank you for showing how the rest of us could do it, especially in the Uk which is so restrictive n where we can actually legally live
It's not easy but it's doable. With land you basically have greenbelt which is a no-go, agricultural which has to be above 12.5 acres and being farmed to a high enough level that you "need to be there" and not just a couple of chickens and goats. Or the only other option is residential which is the expensive one and basically means buying a house. I think campsites are the most viable option for the average person but then you need to find the right one that will allow you to stay there. There should be more options available or more residential sites for caravans and mobile homes because people are being pushed into poverty through housing costs and even "affordable housing" isn't anywhere near affordable.
i'm 65 living full time in an rv in the US and there's plenty of RV parks in the US that anyone can park their tiny home or caravan there ans live full time if that's what you do there's RV parks that do month to month and you're able to stay as long as you want .. i bern in the same place since 2018 ... all I worry about its having my monthly rent and thats it no worries about anything else thanks god for that ....
I wish we had something like that here. All of the land in the UK is strictly categorised into residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural etc. and the closest thing to an RV park is a campsite but then that’s considered commercial so you can’t live there legally. We do have residential sites but they’re static homes a bit like a trailer park I guess but they’re all for over 50’s and not accessible for anyone else plus they’re really expensive. I guess the US has more land available than over here, every square inch is accounted for and they’re really strict.
Ahh this is fantastic and so grounding. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge
Hi, thanks for your very kind advice. I believe the UK is deliberately making it extremely difficult for people to live in tiny houses as it would be extremely inconvenient for the UK property market. Therefore, I believe the UK will never support the Tiny House type of a living, unfortunately, as they are using people for the property market to bloom. It is a horrible system. I called different caravan sites and I can't find any which will allow me to stay long term as all of them are deliberately made to be only maximum for 11 months, I live in Dorset. Would you be able to advise me please? Thank you very much in advance.
Campsites are commercial businesses so you won’t ever get a residency at one because otherwise it would become a change of use of the land which would require a whole planning application. Every campsite in my experience have different rules on how long you can stay and 11 months is a pretty good one compared to a 28 day or 6 month maximum stay. The campsite we stayed on allowed us to stay as contractors not residents so we had to have a permanent address elsewhere to be registered at, you’d need that for car insurance and doctors etc anyway. If you can’t find somewhere residential to stay then you need to think of it as a holiday home that you can use as much as possible so you’d be living at say a friends house for legal reasons but staying in your holiday home for 11 months a year. If you have to vacate for a month you may need to go camping or stay in a b&b for a month or something but that’s all I can really offer as advice. You’ll be very lucky to find somewhere with residential permission and if you can’t you just need to find a way to make it work for you.
Couldn`t you find one that allows the 11 mths and then just rent an air b&b for the other month then go back??
You can get baths in tiny houses 😊 I can relate to all the money issues you mentioned. I live in Surrey and have spent an absolute fortune on rent over the years. I believe you have made a wise choice. Plus it’s great to know your home belongs to you even if the land doesn’t . Enjoy your summer
i have unbelievably endless thoughts and emotions on this. In no particular order although i agree with and admire the financial freedom this way of life gives you it still baffles me how expensive england is.
im 30 living in west yorkshire and ive had my own mortgage since i was 18, its from living in this cheaper part of england which has allowed me to do this, im not shy of saying my mortgage payments are around £300 a month which i know is just not possible to do down south. it sadens me that your paying £600 plus just to park your van on a camp site.....
lets pretend i had land where i could park my tiny house on i would be worried about how long the structure would last for as i would not want to be in a rotting wooden shed when i am at my weakest and most vulnerable when im 70 to 80 years old and with this i worry about the practicality of how id get up and down the stairs of these tiny houses as an old man as they are ladders??
This isnt a dig, im happy for you but looking at the bigger picture long and short term i worry about this way of living and i hope you dont regret it when your of an older age
Hey Michael, I very much doubt we’ll still be in the tiny house when we’re 70 especially one with a ladder. We’re not opposed to having a normal house they’re just far too expensive especially in Surrey and we couldn’t afford one without a lifelong mortgage which brings lots of insecurities. My son is also 12 at the moment so we need to stay in the area although we’d love to get away from Surrey asap.
The house has a 60 year guarantee on the structure so with the right maintenance it should last a lifetime, it isn’t any different to a standard house in regards to building materials so it won’t rot or fall apart and the chassis is galvanised steel so it won’t rust. Also the house was only £46k so if we live in it for 10 years then it’s paid for itself. I think it’s a great option for many people on low incomes who can’t afford “affordable housing”
Fantastic video. I'm looking forward to seeing your other videos
Well done! We've done some full-time RVing in North America and live in a mobile home in England, and we have a touring caravan here. I love living small! Sometimes a combination of ''homes'' can work - a touring caravan, that's easily towed, a larger caravan that someone else tows for you, and your main residence, this lovely little house. All basically equipped. There are sites where they'll store your unit in their own storage area, and tow it out onto a pitch. Maybe that'd be a way around having to move out now and then, having an alternative short-term unit to go to.
I've subscribed! I'd love to hear more.
Hey, we love it too. We’re in the process of converting a van so we can travel a bit more and I think one day we’ll sell up and buy a boat perhaps. I don’t know if we’ll ever buy a real house 😂
I love the fact that you have found an affordable way to enjoy a lovely lifestyle with your family. Good luck and thank you for sharing your story...wonder if we could do this in a ski area? lol
I’ve always wanted to go skiing! I don’t see why you couldn’t do it though, I don’t know if you’d need different building materials or techniques but it’s just a timber framed building on a trailer…
thank you so much for sharing your experience on tiny houses on campsites! I am from Barcelona, Spain and I'm thinking about leaving my lovely city and moving to the countryside but in order to work I must have a really good connection to Internet and this is something I need to make sure it works. Watching your video gives me hope my dream may come true :)
Hey Elisabeth, thank you for the message, I really hope things work out for you and just keep working towards making your dream come true 👍
@@LivingTheTinyLife Many thanks for your kind comments, Best Elisabeth
Great to find your channel
My wife & I have done a lot of research into getting a tiny (small , rather than Tiny) house but the rules on purchasing land to put it on are proving to be a big hurdle. Our latest thoughts are that we will purchase a conventional house with our daughter & family with enough land to put the tiny house on it as the rules are much easier if done this way.
Therefore we get to retire early with a house that is big enough for the two of us, cheap to run & warm AND be near to our family.
Now actively looking for something suitable & looking forward to retirement after over 40 years of hard slog.
I think you’ve got the right idea Keith. I don’t think you need planning if it’s within the curtilage of an existing house and then classed as an extension of the house. You still wouldn’t be allowed to have it as an independent residence without permission but that sounds like a great idea 👍
@@LivingTheTinyLife yes, should be a lot easier & the daughter (jokingly, I hope) said they could rent it out on AirBNB) when we snuff it😮
Yes I heard that’s the solution. Then you simply fence garden in such a way that you both have a separate space and privacy.
The cheek of it! Good idea though 😊
Yep, I think it’s the only real way. Getting planning permission to have it as a residence on its own just won’t happen unless you have a genuine reason to need it for security or something. It’s a bit of a shame and I hope it changes but for now at least that’s how it is.
Hi really enjoyed this video, very informative and genuine. I've been thinking and dreaming of this kind of life for a while now mainly for like you said the freedom. Unfortunately the wife not fully on board at the moment and we have two kids so makes it a little more challenging but i will keep thinking on it and hopefully one day it will happen. Amazing content though please keep it coming. 👌
We're nearly 3 years in now and love it so much, I don't think we'd ever move back into a normal house again unless we had to. We've moved a couple of times but have now settled on private land which is great and we're only paying £600 a month including all our bills which is even cheaper than the campsite we were on. It would be quite tricky with 2 kids, my son is 13 now and he virtually lives in our camper van which is kind of an annexe to the house, we built it a couple of years ago and its basically another tiny house in itself. Our second bedroom is quite small and although he does use it occasionally it can feel quite cramped at times with us all inside. I would definitely recommend it to anyone though, it may seem daunting at first but humans are great at adapting and the financial benefit has transformed our lives. I don't have to work anymore because we don't need the money and not only do I get to spend more time at home but I have also just started a degree.
Great channel and you seem like really cool guys ... enjoying the channel
Thanks Vishy
That is the sad reality that in the UK the only option is to live in a campsite… 😢
Thank you so much!! You are keeping our dream alive! Thank you thank you thank you! We are desperate to get out for the London rat race but still need good access there for work as creatives. Are you in a county near to London or much further afield? Many thanks 🙏🏽 Ruth and Jonny x
Hey Ruth & Jonny, we are in Surrey so commutable to London. We have moved to a relatives garden now but the campsite we stayed at was near Gatwick. I don’t know if there is anywhere closer to London, I think the further away you go the more likely you’ll find somewhere but then if you need to commute then there needs to be a compromise somewhere. We would highly recommend it though and you’ll save a fortune on living costs too 😊
Greetings guys,
I thank you for sharing 🙏
Thanks for the video. Ive been interested for ages in owning a tiny home but the one sticking point is always where I can park it. Where can you find campsites that allow you to stay for longer than a year?
The easiest way I think is to just call up and ask or send an email. Every campsite seems to have different policies so you just need to contact them. I think private sites are more likely to let you keep the house there as they need the business particularly during the winter. There’s only 2 that I’ve found near us where we can keep the house all year round with no restrictions.
Thank you
Wow. That is expensive. You could rent a nice rural house here in West Wales for that. I would love to live in a tiny house, but we are fortunate to live on our dairy farm, so I would look to see if we could use part of a suitable field (depending on planning/utilities etc) or buy a small plot of land elsewhere in the UK.
We’d absolutely love to have the house in a field, that’s the dream for any tiny home owner I think. Unfortunately we live in Surrey and due to commitments here we can’t move away and it’s also one of the most expensive counties in the whole country so we’re making the best out of what we have 😊
@@LivingTheTinyLife I think it is fantastic that you are able to live in Surrey without paying the huge rents or mortgage. I wonder if there would be demand for a Tiny Home community in the UK? Permanent siting with all the utilities, like they have in the US? That is an investment which might interest hubby when we are less busy on the farm
@@AliWade1971 I think a lot of people would be very interested if you created an off grid living community. You could rent or sell plots on the land perhaps, and have some communal facilities too. I have no idea about planning permission or anything so you'd need to research that but I think a lot of us can see through the system of control and want to break free from it.
@@katec9893 I am definitely going to look into it. Planning in our area may be impossible though
@Ali Wade there is definitely demand. And development. Look for Tiny House Community Bristol.
Loving your channel… I have been following the tiny house dream for years and wish it would catch on like it has in America …it would save so much homelessness. We are seriously looking into it and I wouldn’t have any reservations of walking away from my home and possessions to follow our dream.
Ps can I ask what company you used to build your tiny house
We bought the house from Tiny Eco Homes UK, we love our house and We wish we’d done it sooner.
It is quite a big commitment to actually do it but we have no regrets and would recommend it to anyone. Maybe try a caravan first if you’re apprehensive they’re much cheaper 😊
@@LivingTheTinyLife thank you for your reply …. We have owned motor homes and camper vans for 15 years. I love the lifestyle but a tiny home could have a few more luxuries. I worry about the future when I’m old and how we would manage but I suppose you have to live for the here and now 😄… it’s nice to see someone in the uk finally brave enough 👏👏👏
Haha yes you do, we have to climb a ladder to get to bed and there’s about 4ft of headroom upstairs so I don’t think it would work for everyone. You can get bigger ones but then they’re a lot more expensive and harder to move etc.
It is a lot different from a caravan, we certainly have more luxuries and I think it retains its temperature much better year round and also much quieter.
It’s less mobile though and more expensive than a caravan so I suppose they all have their pros and cons.
Jac Marie you can get tiny homes designed with Murphy beds which are downstairs. This maybe better for very tall people or those who prefer not to have a loft type bedroom. I believe the important thing with tiny homes is to understand how you wish to use space available and then design space with great care and consideration. Lots of ideas for tiny houses came from the boating world. Consider how much storage in a narrowboat.
Even if i won the lotto, i'd not move into a house. If the average house price was still 4 times the average salary like it was 40 years ago, then i'd consider but now it's 12 times the amount, so for someone like me born in the 1980s, i'll find it at least 3 times as hard than those who were born in the 1950s once adjusted for inflation and in relative terms.I find it abhorent the blatant profiteering people are allowed just because they were born and in the right place right time, successive governments allowing this to happen have a lot to answer for.
It’s certainly very hard to own a house and I think it boils down to capitalism and the nature of the British debt culture. It’s very frowned upon to not be in debt to a bank and own a house, I don’t know why it seems really daft to me, your quality of life is what matters and you don’t get that being a slave to the system.
@@LivingTheTinyLife Well said.
I had no idea you couldn't permanently reside in a tiny home and they need to be on a campsite. I think a caravan might be a better option for me although I don't know enough to understand how easy it is to tow a tiny house.
I really wanted a tiny home. They look so amazing.
Caravan is a good idea, a tiny house is a lot more like a house though and we have an upstairs which makes a big difference. Just to give you an idea, our house weighs about 3.5t empty which is much heavier than a caravan so you’d need quite a powerful vehicle to tow it, we would pay somebody to tow it for us or perhaps hire one if needed as it would be daft to buy a big vehicle when we’d rarely use it. That makes it a lot less mobile though and you wouldn’t want to be moving regularly so they both have pros and cons.
@@LivingTheTinyLife Appreciate that insight into it all because it has really helped me get cleared
Roughly 800 (pitch rent+bills) quid a month, if I'm not mistaken. When You add an actual cost of tiny house, it doesn't look too good. Imho, it doesn't have sense at all. That's a mortgage on a 3 bedroom house in my area (south wales), 12-15 years mortgage, not 30-35.
Our rent was £135 per week plus electricity which averaged about £20 a week as it’s on a commercial rate so all in it was around £600/650 per month. House prices and rent in this area are very high, a 2 bed flat will be in excess of £250,000, even with a 10% deposit the interest alone on the mortgage will be around £500 a month for the duration of the loan which on an average salary would be a 25/30 years. The interest of £500 is roughly the same as our ground rent. If you were to rent that house then the monthly rent will be £1,200+ with bills on top which we paid for 6 years. I recently left my full-time job to pursue personal interests and that would’ve been impossible paying a mortgage on a house and I would’ve been stuck in a job that I don’t like until I retire or the bank seizes my house.
@@LivingTheTinyLife And, of course, you are free of all this, and you have a detached home in a lovely area, you're not stuck with neighbours you may not like, and you can move if you decide to have a change of scenery! (As well as not having the upkeep and the constant worry that bricks and mortar bring.)
What's not to like?
I found this so helpful thank you 👍
Glad it was helpful! 😊
Love this video. Do you you if it's possible to buy a plot of land anywhere in england to put a tiny home or a cabin? Or is that what you meant when you said the only way really is to put it on a campsite? 🤔
Hey Anne, yeah it's really not easy finding somewhere to keep the house, you can't buy land and live on it without permission from the council and without a genuine reason why you absolutely have to be there then you won't be allowed. It's a bit of a shame because the dream is to have a plot of land, live in the house, be off-grid and have some chickens. The laws may be different in Scotland or Wales but in England it's a no go and a campsite is the easiest option really.
@@LivingTheTinyLife Hmm, just as I suspected 🤔 thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions 😊
Hi, what kind of a camp site we can stay on? As on camp sides you can only stay temporarily and you have to leave after around 28 days. There are no any permanent camp sides. Please advise. I think in UK there is no land where this would be allowed to put on as UK's property market would collapse if they would support this, therefore I believe they will not give planing permission anywhere in UK for this house. What is your opinion?
We’re currently renting a plot on private land that has residential permission for caravans so it does exist. That being said when we made the decision to buy the house in 2020 we didn’t know anything other than a campsite down the road said we can stay there as long as want to. It wasn’t residential, campsites are commercial so you can’t get “residency” there and we weren’t allowed to do anything with the pitch. We registered ourselves as living at a relatives house and the house was effectively a holiday home with no restrictions. Every campsite has different rules about length of stay but lots of them have seasonal pitches for the summer or perhaps 10 months or 11 months it’s varies a lot. The 28 day rule just seems to be a blanket rule to prevent people from parking up in places and not leaving, some campsites stick to it but you can generally find seasonal pitches quite easily, that said it won’t be residential as the land is commercial. A lot of people say they want to live in a tiny house but are fixated on the dream of living in a field with some chickens and goats but sadly it doesn’t exist in this country and you just need to find ways to make it work without having that permanent residential status.
Hi, I am just started the project. I am looking for now a spot to place my future tiny. I did an ad in a local newspaper, I did write on FB-pages. But have no results yet. I looked a campsite as well in this area but the answer was I can not stay there for long term. As I am from abroad less familiar with things. Could you give me some useful info, advices how to continue? For me this could be the only reason to solve this for myself. I mean have a home but for a reasonable cost pro months. Thank you so much. Steven
It can be tricky finding somewhere to keep it. I think you'll be lucky to find someone with land that will let you stay if you don't already know them.
All I can really suggest is keep looking and calling around, look for seasonal pitches or contractor pitches. Lots of people live full-time on campsites so it isn't uncommon and the sites need the business in the winter so often welcome full-timers. You'll need to remember that if you stay on a campsite it doesn't become "your pitch" and it's by no means residential and ultimately it isn't a permanent solution but more an extended stay I suppose.
Super useful info your channel is awesome, where would i go about finding campsites that offer all year round occupancy?, i live in Norfolk and have been dreaming of living in a tiny house for years but always come unstuck with the land issue
It’s the biggest hurdle to get over finding somewhere to go. You’ll never be able to live on your land or anyone else’s unless there is a house on it already.
Campsites are the only real option and all I will say is just ask around, send an email or call up and explain what you want to do and see if they can accommodate it in some capacity. Most campsites are very friendly and are familiar with full timers as a lot of people do it in caravans. You might find it difficult to find one you can stay at indefinitely but they are out there, the ones that are open year round rely on full timers to stay afloat. Naturally you may need to look further away than you may want to and it might be hard but I think you will find somewhere 😊
@@LivingTheTinyLife thanks for response, food for thought 👍
Thank you for your information. I appreciate it. Did you pay for your tiny house in full or in instalment a nd did you tloook out a loan?
We paid for it in full but borrowed some money from relatives to help pay for it. No bank loans which gives us more flexibility and don’t have to pay interest which is the main thing.
@@LivingTheTinyLife thank you for your prompt reply
How did the house stand up to the recent storms? I'm thinking of getting a tiny house but after recent weather I am unsure
The house was fine, I think because the pitch of the roof is quite steep the wind blows it down rather than to the side a bit like a spoiler on a car. That might not be true but it held up fine and when it’s windy it doesn’t shake or anything it’s quite sturdy 😁
You are awesome living the dream
Thanks David 😁
I own a commercial unit. Could I legally put a tiny home in the yard and live there? I'd be plumbing it in and living there permanently.
I would think you’d need planning permission to legally live in it but you might be able to “store” it there and maybe “use it as an office” i think it’s one of those things where it only becomes illegal if you are living in it without permission but that depends on who knows and if they can prove it I guess.
You make some very valid points and it’s funny because they are just as valid here in the states. There has been what can only be described as a movement of people choosing the nomadic life. People tiring of the burden of a mortgage and all of the costs associated with it and moving into vans or motor homes or tiny houses. For over a year now, I have been following a gentleman on UA-cam called Bob Wells who’s channel “Cheaprvliving” was probably one of the first ever to talk about this, I highly recommend his channel for you as I think you’ll find it relevant and interesting. And I’m sure I sound like a scratched record but I’m still really surprised that the UK is not in the forefront of the tiny house movement. Given soaring property prices I can only guess that it must be coming.
I would really like to do this as at my age I don't want to be tied to a mortgage...so, was yours allready built? You had to tow it yourself to your campsite?..Thankyou.
We had it built for us by a company called 'Tiny Eco Homes UK'. We initially had an online consultation and then we went to visit their workshop in Northumberland. We had a look around, got some ideas based on other houses they were in the process of building and some show homes they had, we then chose a rough design and made some tweaks to suit what we wanted, paid a deposit and they built it for us. They delivered it to us initially which I think was factored into the cost but you wouldn't need to worrying about picking it up. We have moved the house four times now though and we used Tiny Eco Homes to move it for us the second time when they were next down South but the third and fourth time we used a towing company which is based in Southampton. The main reason for that was Tiny Eco Homes in 350 miles away from us so unless they were down this way it would cost about £1000 whereas a more local company is obviously much cheaper as it's less miles. You could always hire a vehicle and tow it yourself if it's under 3,500kg but initially they will deliver it to you.
This information is important. Can more be provided? I'm in London, but where exactly can I park a mobile cabin like this nearby? I've looked around a lot and can't find one. (I'm not British) Can you help me with my question? Thank you. (I'm not British.)
London is a tricky one because there’s not many places that I know of in London at all. I think it’s probably the same for most cities. When we first moved into the house we just called around and emailed all the local campsites or caravan parks near us and asked about seasonal pitches or if they accommodate full timers. A lot of people live in caravans and park up for longer periods on campsites, it is a bit tricker being in something that isn’t conventional though. We enquired at one place and they said they only accept branded touring caravans or motorhomes. There is a place called thriftwood country park, it’s just to the south east of London and out a bit, near Dartford / Orpington way, I know people stay there long term in caravans and we always had it as a possibility but we’re never given a definite yes. You’ll have an easier time if you go down the caravan route than getting a tiny house but you just need to ask around really. Hope that helps.
If you owned land, why could you not get planning permission for a permanent tiny residence for full time living in England? Does the permission usually get denied? Sorry, don’t really understand if it’s possible to get planning permission for a self-build, why not a tiny build?
You can apply for permission for anything but they’re very strict when it comes to the use of the land. To change from green belt or agricultural to residential is virtually impossible unless you have a very good cause and existing residential land ie buying a house or even a derelict house is really expensive.
thank you, where did you buy your tiny home from if you don't mind me asking?
Hey, we bought it from 'Tiny Eco Homes UK'.
Cool.. it’s a great idea. I don’t know why local councils aren’t building tiny house communities like they have over in the US.. it would so help ease the housing crisis in the Uk. Especially if they make them rentable for the MOST vulnerable folks out there faced with homelessness. It’s a great solution to a amounting problem.. it’s caught on massively in the USA as you’ll be aware of.. thanks for sharing this video.. it’s brilliant.. 🎉🤍☮️
I totally agree. We do have a few caravan parks, where I live there’s about half a dozen scattered around, but they’re all for over 50’s. Not sure why that is, as you rightly said many vulnerable people need affordable housing especially as social housing doesn’t really exist anymore.
What is your tiny house like in extreme weather conditions? e.g. wind, snow etc
So far it has been fine, it doesn’t shake in the wind, I’m sure if there was a hurricane it might but it’s been up against some storms and fared quite well and we haven’t noticed it shaking at all. It shakes when the washing machine is on though 😂 When it goes below 0°C it gets a bit chilly and we have to get the electric heater out, we have underfloor heating and a heated towel rail in the bathroom which do a good job at keeping the house a nice temperature but below zero it needs a boost. Sometimes we cook with the oven when it’s cold and that warms the whole house up quite quickly. It’s generally quite efficient though as it’s insulated and small. The external walls and roof are only half the thickness of a house so naturally it’s not as efficient in that sense.
How long did it take you to save the money for the tiny home? Did you build it yourself? Thanks ❤
We never saved up for a tiny house specifically and the decision to get one was quite spontaneous really. When we decided to go for it we put together what we had which was about 10k and then borrowed the rest from family. We didn't build it ourselves, we bought it from a company that makes them. We literally found them on google, sent an enquiry, went to visit the workshop and then had a look around to see if we could keep it anywhere, got a yes from a campsite and then put the order in. 3 months later it arrived and we've never looked back. We're now 3 years in and love it, can't imagine living in a normal house and we only pay £600 a month including all our bills and council tax, so we're basically paying about £300 a month rent. We're saving £15,000 a year compared to what we were paying before so I don't have to work anymore, we now spend more time together and I've actually just started a degree with the Open University because I have the time to do it as I'm not working. It really baffles me why more people don't do this or something similar, especially at the moment where in this area a 1 bed flat costs £250,000 or £500,000 if you include the cost of the mortgage. It's really life changing and a much better way to live rather than slaving away at a meaningless job your whole life with the insecurity of being made redundant at any minute and losing it all, just to have a house.
Hi love the video, we are currently looking at buying a tiny house from eco homes and I was wondering how you were able to find a contractors pitch? I have done a couple of google searches but generally not getting much luck and only seem to find the usual pitches. Thanks
We didn’t know a contractor pitch was a thing until we got told that we could have one. The best thing to do is send an email or call up, explain your situation and ask whether they can accommodate you in anyway. Most campsites if they’re open all year round need business in the off-season so tend to allow full-timers but just ask around, a lot of people full-time in caravans so it’s quite common but maybe harder to find somewhere where you can stay indefinitely. I think we got quite lucky because the first place we asked we got a yes. I hope you find somewhere! 🙂
Where do you leave all your clothes etc? Does living in the tiny house mean you have very limited clothing?
So I don’t have many clothes now, just a 3 t-shirts, 2 jumpers, 2 pairs of trousers and 2 pairs of shorts. I used to have loads but I just don’t need it, when we moved out of our house we got rid of loads of stuff we just didn’t need and now everything we have gets used and if it doesn’t then it has to go. Becky has more clothes than me and have off season things in a suitcase and then we have a foot stool downstairs with storage in it that she uses for her clothes.
You buy a property and you can rent it out - that pays the mortg and you can travel. The equity is why people do it.
Buy a tiny house and it's worth fuck all in 20 years.
I don't think that's very accurate. We pay less per month than the interest alone on a mortgage. Maintenance on a house is much more expensive, you also assume that you have tenants all year round which isn't very plausible also you're assuming you have good tenants that don't cause any damage, you're also relying on the fact that your house appreciates which right now it's doing the opposite. I would argue that having the burden of a huge mortgage on a property thats massively overpriced in an unstable market is not very wise.
The only thing that's left is stealth tiny home camping
£600 a month is the same as my mortgage . That's a lot to rent a bit of land . You are indebted to the landowner who is part of the capitalist system so you are not really free .
I guess it depends how you define free, we rented a small 2 bed bungalow 5 minutes up the road for £1250 per month before we bought the house so £600 is less than half of that which is a huge financial gain.
We’re not really indebted either because we rent a pitch and we’re not in debt to anyone, a bank can’t seize our house if we get made redundant. I know a lot of people who have maxed out mortgages and have to work 50+ hour weeks for the next 30 years in a job they don’t like just to pay the bills. I also looked into mortgages and the interest alone was roughly £600 a month for a 2 bed flat.
I think it all just comes down to living below your means gives you freedom which we have certainly managed to do.
Do you know, if you purchase land, can you put a tiny house on it?
I think you can probably put the house in the land but you won’t be able to live in it for longer than 28 days without planning permission
@@LivingTheTinyLife correct
I thought by law you had to have a fixed home address, some or those campsites won't be classed as residential, what about council tax and your post?
Your everyday campsites aren't residential they're commercial so you can't reside there but you can stay there for as long as they allow. We are registered as living at a relatives house because we need a permanent address for all sorts of things such as car insurance, the doctors etc. but we "stay" at the campsite on a permanent basis. We are actually not on the campsite anymore as we found some private land which we rent and have residential status, all of our council tax and bills are included and we only pay £600 a month.
@@LivingTheTinyLife thanks for the update. I am in the UK and felt that the issue of getting 'permission' from the authorities to locate on some private land would be the biggest stumbling block. We have friends with land but I assumed the issues around planning permission, permanent address, council tax etc would make it a no-go. How have you got around these things on your private land site now?
£50,000 ??? my 3 bed terraced house only cost £45,000 and thats in a beautiful Derbyshire village
Wow, a 3 bed house round here is around £500,000
And when did you purchase the home? £45000 sounds like a shed
Where in Derbyshire? I've been checking house prices for years and I've never seen any for £45,000.
@@katec9893 try Creswell
How much is the house
And how can I get one
The price has probably gone up since we bought it 2 years ago but we paid £46k for the house from a company called Tiny Eco Homes UK.
@@LivingTheTinyLife
Thank you for your response
How much is for parking the house and where can I park it in south London
Or in London
We currently pay £600 a month including bills and have the house on private land. I’m not sure exactly where you can keep the house you’ll have to search around, look on gumtree or contact campsites.
My Dream
Hello. If you live in a tiny house on a caravan site, how does it work out with receiving mail? What about registering children to school? Would it have any impact?
Hey Patrice, we can receive parcels but we also have to be registered at a permanent address so our legal mail goes there. I’m not sure about registering children as I have never done it but I imagine it goes off your permanent address.
I wish we could register ourselves online or something rather than requiring a property to do so but unfortunately you can’t at the moment.
Thanks. What would be the permanent address then for someone who has no other property or no relatives to depend on?
I guess you wouldn’t have one.
Unfortunately you can’t do anything in this country without a permanent address. You can’t register a vehicle or even have a bank account without one and you will have to give a permanent address to a caravan park to stay there.
Please,can you build stationary tiny house on your plot of land and live in it as. Regular house, please? Are there any buildings size rules please? Greetings from Suffolk
You can do anything you like on a plot of land but you have to get permission to do it first. There are things you can do without permission but if it’s a permanent structure then you should always check or you might have to take it down.
Could a couple with 4 kids live in a tiny house
In our house, possibly but it would be very squishy. You can design them yourself and get bigger ones, ours is only 20x8ft which is quite small but as long as it fits on a trailer you can do what you like I suppose. 👍
@@LivingTheTinyLife how do u get your internet
We have a 4g router with a phone SIM card in it. We get unlimited internet with good signal for £25 a month. I’m not sure how good that is price wise but it works really well.
@@LivingTheTinyLife is it upfront cost or can u do instalment
So you don't want to pay rent, but you pay £650 a month, which is a form of rent, and the value of your tiny home depreciates over time? That makes zero sense when you can rent a 3 bedroom terrace in the North of England for less than £500 a month 🤯
How would we commute from the north of England when we live near London? A 3 bedroom house here costs around £1,600 a month so £650 is considerable cheaper.
@@LivingTheTinyLife Relocate?
Paying for the pitch, I would say still offers benefits over normal housing rent. It's incredibly difficult to make rented accommodation feel like a home or in a style you like, plus the stress of getting the deposit back. And relocating is incredibly difficult, especially with a family.
@@LivingTheTinyLife I live in shropshire near the Welsh boarder and i was shocked that they pay £650 a month for a basically a camping pitch. You could rent a nice 2-3 bed house for less than that around here. I would consider relocating if you really wanted to get out of the rat race and have a more relaxed family life. Interesting insite well done..