5 Tips for Adjusting to Live in a Tiny House

The tiny living lifestyle has become incredibly popular in recent years, with more and more people being attracted to the simpler way of life it offers, the flexibility, and the financial freedom. But most of us have grown up in larger spaces and have gotten used to accumulating a lot of stuff, so the shift to tiny house living can be quite difficult to make.

Here at Little Living, we manufacture and supply transportable homes on the South Island, and we have become very well-versed in the ins and outs of tiny living. In this article, we’ll give you some tips for transferring to a more minimalist lifestyle in a tiny, transportable home.

Before Anything: Declutter

If you are living in a ‘normal’-sized home or apartment, chances are that you have accumulated an unnecessary amount of clothes, furniture, crockery, etc. Not all of this is going to fit in your tiny home. So it is a good idea to start with decluttering any items that you no longer need or use.

Digital Storage

Many of us still have loads of paper documents, CDs, DVDs and even VHS tapes. These will take up valuable storage, so it is a good idea to start looking into digital and cloud storage options.

Decide What is Truly Important to You

Perhaps you’re a painter who also plays the guitar on occasion, loves board games, sewing, knitting, skateboarding, etc. All of these hobbies require valuable storage space. It may be difficult, but you have to narrow down what is really important to you, probably by looking at which items you use the most.

Shift Your Mindset

Living in a tiny, transportable home definitely requires a shift in mindset. You should keep the reasons why you are doing this in the forefront of your mind as they will help you get through the many challenges that you are sure to encounter along the way.

Watch Videos of Others Living in Tiny Homes

One way in which you will gain extremely useful insight, and tons of tips, is by watching and following the journeys of established tiny house enthusiasts on various social platforms. They have been through what you are going through and more. Watching a few Youtube videos in preparation will definitely be beneficial!

Are you interested in transportable homes on the South Island of New Zealand? We have both one and two-bedroom portable homes here at Little Living. Browse our site to find out more or get in touch with us should you have any questions.

If you haven’t yet stepped inside a Little Home you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Being little not tiny means the spaces inside feel like spaces you might find in a more traditional home just in a smaller building that will fit almost anywhere.

If you feel the kitchen is an important part of any home, there are no compromises here with a full kitchen including breakfast bar where your friends and family can gather, and full meals can be prepared.

Bathroom facilities are also conveniently full size so no squeezing into the shower.

These homes are ideal for comfortable farming accommodation, home for your parents and extended family or the grown up kids.
Little not tiny homes can also provide a substantial rental return on existing land. Since they are portable they can be craned over existing houses so provide for an excellent minor dwelling or rental on your existing property in town. Even if placed on permanent foundations you know you can pick it up and move it again if circumstances ever change.

They can be shipped around Canterbury or anywhere in the country, consented or with wheels depending on which suits your situation best.

The world is changing and traditional housing amongst other living costs is becoming less affordable and many people no longer want to be tied into a cumbersome mortgage. The rising tide of warm dry easy-care comfortable homes is where many New Zealanders are looking for their future.

A simple construction means a quick build from structural insulated panel coupled with timber and gib for flexible interior layouts. This also means that Living Little can include what is important to your build personally and can do so in a time frame you can count on.

Our plug and play option means you can just move in and start living as it includes all appliances, blinds, and exterior skirt finish.
Living Little customers are well looked after.

One of the early thoughts most people have when thinking about all the benefit that can be gained from Living Little is: “Do I need a building consent for a Tiny Home?” It’s a great question and one we’ll answer for you here. We will go through the two options for building compliance in a Tiny Home.

Before getting into the technicalities and compliance it’s important to appreciate that here in New Zealand, there is a deep understanding of the need for secure, long term, affordable and better housing options for all kiwis and visitors. Land is available for a huge amount of small dwelling opportunities and as a rule, our authorities are right behind you in moving into your own home however you decide to achieve this. Owning a Tiny Home has become the best option for lots of New Zealanders. Building compliance is critical and of course, those important processes benefit from an expert eye and strong, capable support along the way. That’s where we can really add value.

There are two directions you can take. Your local Council could interpret the Tiny Home guidelines to confirm that your Little Home meets the criteria for a moveable vehicle and therefore not requiring consent. Alternatively you can choose or be directed to get a code of compliance certificate through the formal building consent process.


Tiny home building compliance through meeting the MBIE Criteria for a Vehicle

The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) released guidelines on Tiny Homes in recognition of a fast growing lifestyle choice for New Zealanders. These guidelines:

… clarify any ambiguity on which rules apply to which tiny houses, particularly for tiny houses on wheels…
This guidance provides detail on these definitions along with considerations to help determine if a tiny house is a
building or a vehicle, or both a building and a vehicle, and which relevant laws they need to comply with”.

Basically, this provides your local council with a mechanism to make it simple and quick to be in a new home with full compliance through the guidelines. Most councils appreciate this however we have come across some councils that have so far, chosen to interpret these guidelines in a way that will divert you to a process of requiring building consent.

A great first step if you’re thinking about Living Little in a structure that is a Tiny Home, is to ask your local authority how they interpret this Tiny House Guidance for the building Act 2004 to give it its’ formal title. Have that conversation or, if you’re a little nervous to, do have a look at the guidance and feel free to give us a call for some advice.

When it comes to Engineering and Design we have a specific niche solution for our Little Homes that complies with the building code and also goes even further to also capture and comply with the new H1 Energy Efficiency clause around insulation and moisture requirements (May 2023). This requires:

“… enclosed spaces where temperature or humidity are modified to provide adequate thermal resistance and to limit
uncontrollable airflow in certain buildings. It also sets out physical conditions likely to affect energy performance, and
requirements for hot water systems, artificial lighting and HVAC systems.”

Keeping up to date with the building code amendments ensures that both the MBIE Guidelines and Building Consent options remain open to you. And important part of developing and delivering small affordable homes is that we continue to provide a valuable option that remains affordable throughout New Zealand.

Compliance Through a Building Consent for your Tiny Home

Where interpretation of the guidelines recommends a building consent and this is the choice that you have made personally, we can obtain that for you quickly and affordably.

In addition to the time and cost advantages, a building consent with Living Little expertise and engineering will result in a permanent 50 year consent. Unlike many other tiny homes, our consent is the same as if you were building a regular house with bricks and mortar.

The process requires building consent for the little home at our end and also at the destination end for the foundation and services. We can organise the destination end consent for you also very economically to make the experience and process as easy as possible .

All you’ll need to do is get a local contractor to hook it up to drains and electricity.

District Planning

Whether you choose compliance through the guidelines or a building consent, all councils do align on their position of seeing little homes and tiny houses as dwellings. This means that you will need to comply with their local district planning rules whether you’re a vehicle or have a building consent.

In contrast to building performance, these planning rules are generally about location of the home on a site i.e. distance from boundaries and what you can and cannot put on site etc. So you do need to be aware of complying with those too.

In our experience most locations can have a minor dwelling site so it’s certainly worth checking to remove any doubt.

About us

Living Little is a small home fabricator manufacturing your spacious little transportable and tiny homes with innovative premium materials. By including a full size kitchen, bathroom and bedroom(s) in a well designed little home you won’t find yourself needing to squeeze in or climb up. Every space feels generous and comfortable.

Give Sophie a call to find out more and discover how to Live Little.
022 652 8475
Sophie@livinglittle.co.nz

As the cost of living increases, and owning your own home feels out of reach for many of us, smaller homes provide an economical and smart option. While tiny homes are often just a little impractical for a variety of reasons, one Christchurch business has a clever solution.

Living Little Movable Homes provides innovative homes that are small, but not tiny houses. Full size spaces you would expect to find in a traditional home, just in a smaller footprint. You don’t have to squeeze in, and there’s no need to climb up.

Living Little homes are delivered complete and ready for you to move in, with all the modern comforts of a larger home. The homes come with double glazing, super insulation, window dressings and high spec, full-size kitchens and bathrooms complete with all appliances so you can begin to live little really simply and above all else, really quickly too.

Not only are these perfect homes, you can also enjoy all those other benefits your homes gives you, in terms of cost savings or income through Airbnb, spare rooms to let to students, office and craft space, on-farm accommodation for workers or guest accommodation for agri-tourism.

These affordable first homes could also be that wonderfully comfortable solution for aging parents to be close to family and or friends. And in a home that is maintainable and easy to be in.

Homes can be either permanent or relocatable so your home can move with you for total flexibility.

While the most popular sizes for Living Little homes are 50-60msq, the team at Living Little can work with your needs to create the perfect home for you and your circumstances.

All Living Little homes come with a five-year domestic use guarantee on all workmanship and can be delivered anywhere in New Zealand on the South Island or the North Island.

Living Little can take care of your building consents and foundations for permanent homes, to make the whole process simple and stress-free. Off-the-grid options with composting toilets are also available for an eco-friendly alternative. Do have a look at our blog on compliance for Little Homes and Tiny Houses to see a great breakdown of your choices. We also link into the MBIE Guidelines so you can see them too.

If you are thinking small – it is a must to view Living Little homes and experience the beauty, class and simplicity of the remarkable down-sized lifestyle choice.
If you are coming to Christchurch any time soon contact Sophie at Living Little at Sophie@livinglittle.co.nz to make a time to view. It’s also our pleasure to meet you over Zoom, Google meets or your preferred video call platform and have a walk and talk through the homes on site. If you’d like to see them, we’d love to show you and will remove any barriers that we can so you can do that with ease.
We’re a people company and bring the craft of taking care of you into our business, right alongside the quality workmanship.
In the meantime, take a sneak peek on our website at www.livinglittle.co.nz and feel free to ask any questions you have. Knowledge is power and Little is affordable!
We look forward to meeting you.

Sophie
022 652 8475
sophie@livinglittle.co.nz