You Asked for a Tiny Home on a Foundation, and We Delivered
Mar 05, 2024
Love tiny homes on wheels but your municipality won’t let you have one? You need a tiny house on a foundation. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Introducing our Foundation Series Tiny Homes!
At Teacup, we love all kinds of beautiful, small-space living structures.
Tiny houses, tiny homes, park models, small foundation-built homes, manufactured houses, the options are endless. As long as they are quality homes, with great layouts, cute features, and the best small appliances, we’re in!
If you’ve been following us for a while, you probably know that Teacup Tiny Homes is pretty famous for our tiny homes on wheels. (Also called Tiny Home RVs).
But while we love a good movable tiny house, a home on wheels isn’t the right fit for everyone.
Here are a few reasons you might not want to buy a tiny house on wheels:
- If you plan to park on private land and your municipality prohibits RVs.
- If you need more space and don’t want to go “too tiny.”
- If you need multiple downstairs bedrooms.
- If you don’t plan to move the house and want it to feel even more like a traditional home.
So what do you think? Is a small home on a foundation the right fit for you?
If so, we’re about to tell you absolutely everything you need to know to live your tiny home dreams legally, safely, and fabulously. Oh, and with a teensy bit more space!
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Small Homes on Foundations
Here are the basics for building a small home on a foundation!
#1 - Figure out the Minimum Square Footage Requirements
Most municipalities have a minimum size for dwelling structures. And if you plan to buy a small home on a foundation, you’ll want to know what they are. This will help us choose a tiny home design that will meet the requirements.
Do you live in Ontario? If so, great news! Bill 23 reduced the minimum dwelling size down to just 188 square feet, so you have options!
#2 - Determine the Zoning of a Particular Parcel
Zoning has to do with land use, and most parcels of land come with a zoning designation.
For instance, if a parcel is zoned “agricultural” you might be able to have a herd of sheep on it. But have you ever wondered why no one in your HOA community has a herd of sheep? It’s probably due to zoning!
Zoning also addresses where you can have things like schools, vacation rentals, manufacturing facilities, and- you guessed it- tiny homes on foundations.
#3 - Make a Friend in the Planning Department
Once you know the zoning, it’s time to make a friend in the planning department.
Building a small house on a foundation can be done, but there is definitely a paperwork and permitting process you’ll have to go through.
Our team at Teacup has learned that when it comes to tiny homes on foundations, it’s best to have a direct point of contact in your local planning department to help get the job done.
That’s why step three is to introduce yourself to someone in charge and ask for their help in complying with local laws. Remember that the words “tiny home” are likely not in their books (yet!), so use terms that have been around longer like ADU, manufactured home, or small home on a foundation.
Also, remember that the people in the planning department are on your side. They want your project to succeed. Even if there are challenges, they are your teammate, not your enemy!
#4 - Find Out What Type of Permit You Need
Building a tiny house on a foundation is going to need a permit. In fact, you might need more than one.
That’s why step four of this process is to find out (from your friend in the planning department!) what those permits are.
If you want to make your life easier, see if they have a checklist of what you’ll need to do to obtain each permit. Trust us, it pays to stay organized at the beginning.
Are You Ready to Build a Tiny House on a Foundation?
Once you’ve sailed through the four steps above, it’s time to get serious and start designing your tiny home on a foundation.
Just to give you a heads up, the process of building a legal tiny home on a foundation is, well, a process. The permits need to be obtained, a ton of paperwork needs to be processed, designs and site plans need to be submitted and approved, and we haven’t even gotten to the building part yet!
The good news is that our team at Teacup has put a ton of work into our Foundation Series tiny homes. We aren’t going to make you go through this process alone, but because it will require a lot of work on our end, we do have to charge for it.
Our initial Discovery Calls are free. We always want to encourage you to learn more! If you want to buy a tiny home on a foundation, though, we do have a $5,000 design fee to help you through the initial stages of this process.
Want to Learn More About Building a Tiny Home on a Foundation?
If you’d like to read every detail of this process, we get it. And we love your dedication! So if you’d like a start-to-finish look at the process of building a tiny house on a foundation, you are in luck because we wrote it all down.
You can find information about every step including parcel due diligence, obtaining permits, the design process, the installation of utilities, the installation of your home, and the process for obtaining legal occupancy for your Teacup tiny home on a foundation here.
Have you read enough and would like to talk to a real live human?
Excellent! We’re standing by and can’t wait to hear your plans. Just use the link at the bottom to book your free Discovery Call.
Thanks for reading our tiny house blog, and we hope you reach out soon.
Your little piece of awesome is waiting!
