Settlements: Why area is key
From ‘Kleiner Wohnen’: Buy a tiny house, put it somewhere and you're done – unfortunately, it's not that simple. What's almost always missing: the right plot of land and its preparation.
The key players here are not those interested in tiny houses, but rather the landowners. In Germany, you can't just park a tiny house anywhere – on the contrary, there are strict legal requirements. Although there are thousands of plots of land in this country that are suitable for tiny house projects in principle, very few of them can be used spontaneously.
Why?
There is a lack of legal, infrastructural and conceptual preparation. This is where the work of a building land developer begins: 90 per cent of tiny house construction consists of developing and preparing the site, with the rest being the actual construction of the houses themselves. These are the essential steps in building land development: Concept – from empty plot to well-planned tiny house park
A plot of land does not become buildable through good intentions, but through planning and structure. Before even a single tiny house is erected, a coherent concept for the plot must be in place. This first involves clarifying the building law situation: does the site already have building rights for residential purposes or does municipal approval first have to be obtained? Nothing can be done without valid building rights – a local authority must approve a tiny house project, if necessary via development plans or exemptions. In the concept, we also define the type of use: should a tiny house park enable permanent living, temporary living or tourist use? The requirements for building rights and design depend on this.
It is equally essential to involve neighbours and local politicians from the outset. Without early communication, new forms of housing often meet with reservations in the community. The building land developer therefore seeks early dialogue with residents and community representatives, presents the concept and takes concerns seriously. Through transparent planning and participation, acceptance can be created before the first sod is turned. Nothing would be worse than a tiny house project failing due to neighbourhood protests or local political vetoes because the concept was not communicated properly.
Another component of the concept is location analysis and land use planning. What are the characteristics of the property? How many tiny houses could be sensibly placed on it without overloading the site? Questions of development are important – i.e. where connections for water, sewage and electricity are located and how access is provided. A tiny house site needs basic infrastructure, otherwise it remains a vision on a ‘greenfield site’. All these considerations are incorporated into a concrete site layout and a draft plan. Ideally, the concept process will result in a finished draft plan that shows how tiny houses can be built here – legally permissible, spatially sensible and with the support of local stakeholders.
