Guide to buying a tiny house

Häuslein has built tiny houses for people all over Australia so we know what it takes to make the process of buying a tiny house as smooth as possible.

Two of our company founders living full time in a Grand Sojourner tiny house, so we also have the first-hand experience of what you need to know and what to expect.

We hope this free tiny house buyer’s guide will help you answer the most important questions.

1. Location

Do you have suitable land for your tiny house?

Finding the right place to park for your tiny house is critical. It’s one of the very first things you need to answer. Thankfully, it is achievable.

It could be as simple as searching on real estate websites for rural property or vacant blocks. But with with affordable land increasingly difficult to find close to built up areas, buying suitable land for your tiny house will be out of reach for many people.

However, you may not need to own the land. You can own your tiny house, but rent the land. A tiny house has the flexibility to be moved when your life or opportunities change, or you find land to own.

A growing number of people park their tiny houses in the backyard of a family member or friend. Multi-generational living is on the rise, bringing families closer together and sharing the cost of living and responsibilities such as childcare, paying the mortgage, managing the garden.

Other people rent land from land owners or farmers in the areas where they want to live.

Land for rental use for tiny houses is advertised on dedicated tiny house land matching websites such as Tiny Real Estate or Park My Tiny House or tiny house groups on Facebook.

We recommend you organise your land before ordering your tiny house build with Häuslein. It typically takes us up to 15 weeks to complete a build and have it ready for delivery.

2. Council regULATIONs

Do you need council approval?

One of the big attractions of tiny houses has been the potential for minimal or no requirement for council approval. To date in NSW, tiny houses have fallen under the Government Legislation for Manufactured Home Estates, Caravan Parks, Camping Grounds and Moveable Dwellings Regulation 2005

Typically, under Part 3, Subdivision 3, Clause 77b (pages 39-40) no council approval has been required for parking a tiny house (caravan) in connection with a primary dwelling and for a member of the household to live in it full time. This has been the simplest path for tiny living.

Saying this, local laws still vary and apply and there can be a huge discrepancy between local councils as to their openness to tiny houses as viable and accepted long term dwellings. This is the tricky bit and it’s important to check with your local council!

There is also currently some legislative review underway which may see tiny houses in their own legal category and with their own requirements. In the interim, the best advice is to check with your local council to find out where things are up to. Greater requirements may be applied to tiny houses over the size of 20 square metres, though details are still under consideration.

There has been great progress in some local council regions in the acceptance of tiny houses. Groups like the Australian Tiny House Association are working toward seeing a broader acceptance of tiny houses. ATHA suggest builders and customers can help by making personal contact with local elected representatives to ensure that they know tiny houses are an option that a great many people are interested in. They also suggest that we can point out the Shire of Esperance in WA as the first local government area in Australia to welcome tiny house living. Ravensthorpe and Capel Shires, also in WA, have since followed suit and others are actively exploring options. The Surf Coast Shire in Victoria is currently conducting a tiny house trial. Shellharbour in NSW recently announced plans for a trial. Find out more good news on ATHA’s website: https://tinyhouse.org.au/atha-news/ 

At this stage Häuslein does not foresee that tiny houses will lose their place amongst affordable housing options, rather, we hope that great clarity, and eventually a streamlined approval process may be put in place to give these dwellings the official place they deserve.  

It seems that most legislative changes will impact larger tiny houses. This is one of the reasons we have designed the new Chipper model for long-term living which falls well under the 20 square metre threshold. It is easily relocated with most typical 4WDs. We’ve heard of the possibility for ‘fast-tracked’ approval processes for larger models but are yet unsure whether there will be changes to our current designs required. We are ready and able to pivot to meet new requirements, if required and viable, and remain committed to providing excellence in the tiny house sector to the Australian market.

3. Purpose

What will you use the tiny house for?

Each of our tiny house models are flexible and suitable for many different needs.

The Gunyah and Chipper is designed for comfortably sleeping 2 guests and is ideal for using as weekend retreat or can be rented out for extra income on Airbnb.

If you want to live full-time in a tiny house or offer your guests a lot more room - then the Settler, Luna, Sojourner and Grand Sojourner models are much better options.

Our larger models have much more storage and appliances suitable for longer term living.

Get started by choosing one of our tiny house models, view layouts, specifications and optional extras for each model.

4. Storage

How much storage do you need?

Downsizing to a tiny house means that some compromise is inevitable. Thankfully, our ergonomic designs and storage solutions are built for day to day practicality. Every square inch of the tiny house floor plan has been thought about.

Customers love our unique and innovative slide-out feature which expands the internal space and helps to reorientate the layout of the house. Think of it as adding an extra 1 metre to the length of the house, but place it on the side.

5. Power

How will you power your tiny house?

Our entire range of tiny houses is versatile, capable of connecting to the grid or going off-grid. All of the appliances, power points, and lighting are wired to run on a 240v circuit—the same as a normal residential house.

Our tiny houses are plug-and-play. You can run an extension power cable from an existing dwelling to your tiny house. Smaller houses use 1x 15 amp inlet, while larger houses feature 2x 15 amp inlets.

6. Water & Drainage

How will you supply your tiny house with running water?

Every tiny house needs a steady supply of clean water for the kitchen and bathroom. This couldn't be easier if you're on a block with mains water already available. Simply connect a normal garden hose to the plumbing at the back end of the tiny house, the same as you would with a caravan and you're good to go.

If mains water isn't an option, an off grid water system might be for you. This isn't normally hugely expensive but you'll need to purchase a few components. Make sure you seek advice from a plumber and have your system professionally installed.

Firstly, you'll need some guttering to catch your rain water. Monument matte colorbond guttering, to match in with your tiny house, is normally available anywhere you can purchase colorbond. You'll also need a water tank and a water pump, the pipes to connect it all together and the power required for the pump. You'll likely want a 5,000L water tank or greater. Your tiny house roof space isn't huge so unless you're in a high rain area, you might struggle to get enough water for daily use from only that source. Collecting water from a nearby shed can also help or you can buy water in to get you started.

You'll also need to think about where your grey water is going to go. All the sinks and shower in Häuslein tiny houses are plumbed to the same point which can then be plumbed into an existing septic tank by a plumber. Again, if an off-grid solution is required, there are some excellent off-grid drainaage systems available. They will usually include a grease trap and trench with slotted pipe laid down hill with layers of gravel to filter the grey water. If your waste water is being dispersed in the ground, you'll also want to be careful to be using environmentally friendly soaps, laundry liquids and other products.

It would normally take a plumber within a day to get you going with water tank, drainage and associated infrastructure. Not a huge cost but important to keep in mind.

7. Rubbish Collection

How will you deal with waste and rubbish collection?

Largely this decision will be driven by where you install your tiny house. If you place your tiny house on land where there is an existing dwelling connected to sewage pipes then your tiny house can be plumbed in with a regular flush toilet. If you choose to go fully off grid, a composting toilet solution, gas incinerator, and electric incinerator, are viable options for dealing with waste. Arrange for a local plumber to fit off your toilet.

If you're parking your tiny house on a property with others you'll need to make sure you have adequate rubbish collection. You may or may not manage sharing the typical council supplied wheelie bins. Often the property owner can order an extra bin and pay a little extra for its pickup.

If you're way out in the sticks, you may need to purchase some bins and do your own tip runs. Just ensure you know how you're handling your waste and the options in your location are.

8. Delivery & Installation

How far away is your delivery site?

Häuslein have delivered tiny houses to customers all over Australia. Delivery is measured from our base in Herons Creek 20 mins south of Port Macquarie. We provide our customers with a competitively priced quote for delivery. 

Good access for tiny house delivered is important. We have delivered to many tight spots and difficult driveways. We've worked with external crane companies to have tiny houses craned to site. As a minimum your access road needs to be 3m wide with 4.3m high clearance. Overhanging trees will need to be trimmed back.

You’ll need a clearing with a flat level area to park your tiny house. A concrete slab is a nice-to-have but not required. You can use concrete pads or compacted crusher dust / road base to support the stabilising landing legs under your house.

We offer installation an optional extra, where we level your tiny house onto individually adjustable peers or landing legs and brace your tiny house for maximum stability. If you're confident or know someone who is able to do this for you, you can organise this yourself.

One unique feature that our customers love is our removable drawbar. Once the house is set up  it makes your tiny house look more presentable and makes it harder for theft or unauthorised transportation.

9. MovING

How transportable do you need your tiny house to be?

Our tiny houses are on wheels so they are designed to be mobile if needed. It’s one of the best features of a tiny house. When you need to move, it can be towed away with you.

However, most of our customers don’t move their tiny house once it has been installed. Most people don't keep their tiny houses road-registered. If you do need to transport your house at a later date, a permit to move an unregistered vehicle can be acquired from Service NSW or equivalent in other States at a low cost.

The 5m Chipper weighs 3 tonnes making it towable by many powerful 4WD’s. Our larger 8.2m Luna, and 9m Settler and GrandHaus models weigh between 3.8 - 4.2 tonnes making towing only possible by tow truck, Dodge Ram, Ford F Trucks type vehicles graded to tow 4.5 tonnes. For up to date pricing on delivery, check out our Delivery page.

10. Ordering & Finance

How will you pay for your tiny house?

Tiny houses on wheels are a new and innovative housing solution to Australia. Thankfully, arranging finance is getter better, even if you need to borrow more than $70k. Speak to us to arrange finance options.

You may be able to borrow the entire amount of your build with no deposit down and affordable monthly repayments.

Once you accept the formal quote, you pay a $5k deposit, which secures your place in the build queue. Approximately 6 weeks prior to build commencement, a 40% deposit is required to go towards buying materials and other initial costs. A 30% payment is due midway through the build, and the final 30% is due upon completion and prior to delivery.

To keep you updated we’ll send you photos of your tiny house during each stage of the build process.