The tiny house movement in the United States is an architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in a small home, defined as a house of 400 sq. ft. or smaller. The idea, dating back at least to Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, gained traction in the mid- to late 20th century as the square footage of the average single-family home crept higher and higher, with housing becoming more and more expensive. Several books published in the 1970s and ‘80s explored the idea, and the movement continued to grow in the early 2000s, with more books published. Also, in the early 2000s the idea of tiny houses on wheels began to predominate.
After the onset of the Great Recession in 2008, more people turned to tiny houses as an affordable housing alternative. As environmental awareness and activism have grown, increasing numbers of consumers have become committed to using less, wasting less, and living in greater harmony with the earth. Tiny houses produce less waste during construction, they are much more energy-efficient to live in, and they use less water than traditional single-family homes. In recent years, two reality TV series, “Tiny House Nation” and “Tiny House Hunters,” have brought these ideas to millions. A plethora of media articles and podcasts have followed. There are numerous of social media groups focused on tiny homes.
In 2018 the International Residential Code addressed tiny houses for the first time. Their definition of a tiny house is:
“A dwelling that is 400 square feet (37 sq. m) or less in floor area excluding lofts.”
Since the coronavirus pandemic, there has been increased interest in tiny houses, especially for rentals as an additional source of revenue.
