Small houses are popping up in more and more places in the country. At first glance, all these houses seem largely the same: a small house for 1, 2 or even more people. But there quite a lot of difference between Tiny Houses and Microwoningen (Microhomes). Three pioneers in the small housing sector explain the differences.
The first Microwoning.com home was placed in a garden in Gouda last year.
Because of the housing crisis, people opt to choose a ‘size less’. In addition, sustainability is becoming increasingly popular and the number of households of 1 or 2 people is increasing. Despite the great need for small houses, there is still a great deal of ignorance in this area among private individuals, tenants and municipalities. That is why Microwoning.com, Marjolein in het klein and Tiny.nl joined forces: they developed an infographic about the difference between Tiny Houses and Microwoningen.
Big differences in small living
The fact that they are both small houses is indeed a similarity. But beyond that, they are quite different from each other. To begin with, the goal is an important difference: with Microwoningen an unused piece of land is made habitable and the permit applications are made by Microwoning.com. Tiny Houses, on the other hand, are placed in the designated places, or the owner arranges land and a permit himself. The house is completely your tiny palace.
The target group is an important point here as well: Tiny House residents consciously opt for a certain lifestyle that is enabled by the choice of this type of home, a lifestyle that is often related to the pursuit of a smaller ecological footprint, while Microwoningen mainly attract young people, the elderly and emergency seekers.
These two examples are just a sampling of all the differences.
Transportable Tiny Houses at a demo location of Tiny.nl.
The right choice
The infographic makes everything clear: ,, This is particularly important for municipalities, so that they know which target group they serve with the choice for a certain form of small housing. Of course we hope that there will be more space for both Microwoningen and Tiny Houses, so that people can choose what suits them,” says Tiny house pioneer Marjolein Jonker.
A permanent Tiny House on a foundation in Leeuwarden, Tiny House Techum.
The plans of the government are ambitious: in 2023, 2024 and 2025, approximately 87,000 additional homes must be built per year to eliminate the shortage in the Netherlands. “Small homes that can be installed quickly and easily can help achieve this goal,” says Tiny.nl director Ralph de Boer. “We hope that with our initiatives to live smaller we can contribute to this housing crisis.”
“We need to take a critical look at our land use in order to meet the ever-growing demand for smaller homes. Whichever home suits you: smaller homes are the future,” concludes Microwoning.com founder Matthijs Rolleman.
Download the infographic as a PDF here:
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