This year we celebrate TinyFindy’s 5th anniversary, a good reason to ask some enthusiastic TinyFindy participants about their experiences in the Tiny House market and their expectations for the future.
Sander Quartel, communication staff at Den Helder Housing Association, talks passionately about the special Falgatuinen project, one of the first and largest Tiny House neighborhoods in the Netherlands:
‘As a housing corporation, you naturally keep an eye on developments in the field of housing and sustainability. We were enthusiastic about articles in the media and already in 2016 we organized an open evening together with the municipality of Den Helder and Tiny House Netherlands. The great interest that evening was a precursor to the wave of applications to rent a plot in the Falga Gardens.’
Helder Vastgoed BV, part of Woningstichting Den Helder, rents out 27 off-grid plots in the Falga Gardens. Residents are allowed to make their own design of their dream Tiny House within the image quality plan and the building decree. The lots are spacious, so that in addition to the Tiny Houses, there is also a lot of space for gardening and a possible outbuilding. Moreover, there is freedom of choice with regard to the facilities: ‘You can live completely off-grid in the Falga Gardens, but a water and cable connection is also an option.’
‘The Tiny House market is booming. Every week we receive several new requests to be placed on the reserve list for the Falga Gardens project.’ Sander beams, ‘Like many residents, we have jumped into the project as a pioneer and we are still learning every day. The market is gradually maturing and there are more and more serious builders on the market.’
He also points out that this form of living is being taken more and more seriously and that municipalities, corporations and companies see it as a permanent new form of living. ‘With the sharply rising energy costs, more and more people are orienting themselves towards a form of living that is as self-sufficient as possible. The Tiny House movement fits in perfectly!’
Sander is most proud of the unique combination of advantages at the Falga Gardens: ‘You can live there permanently and there is no end date associated with the project. The lots are large and you get a lot of freedom in designing your own Tiny House. We hardly see this anywhere else in the Netherlands! The residents are making increasingly creative designs, which means that a wide variety of Tiny Houses can be admired in the Falga Gardens. It is a feast for the eyes to take a walk through the Falga Gardens.’
There are of course also challenges. ‘Living off-grid sounds easy, but in the dark days you really have to live with very little electricity. This requires fundamental choices in behavior and equipment. What is possible and what is not. After last winter, we see that residents have become more aware of this.’
Sander expects the demand for locations for Tiny Houses to increase in the coming years. ‘Fortunately, you see that more and more municipalities, sometimes temporarily, allocate locations to allow Tiny living. I do not expect a new location for Tiny Houses in Den Helder for the time being. The housing market is under tension and there is a high demand for housing. Available locations will mainly be used for this in the coming years.’
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