I was sick of paying a mortgage so rented out my home & built a tiny house in my garden for £27k
A WOMAN has revealed that she is now completely rent and mortgage free, after moving out of her home, and into a 300 square foot tiny house.
Precious Price, 26, felt that her three-bedroom house was too large for her so spent £27,000 building a tiny home in her back garden.
Since she travels a lot for her work as a consultant, she was already renting her home out a lot, and used that money to pay for the tiny home.
“I financed it through my credit cards, in addition to cashing out a few of the stocks that I had from my 9-5,” she told CNBC.
Once the tiny home was built, Precious moved in to it, and says that she is a big fan of tiny home living.
“If I was to describe my home to someone who has never been here, I would literally just describe it as a studio apartment,” she said.
As soon as you walk into the door of Precious’ home, you come to the dining room/living area.
“I would describe the house as very light, airy and open,” she said.
“I made sure to add a ton of windows, just to open the space up.”
She has also added plenty of mirrors to the space, to make it appear larger.
Precious said that the kitchen is her favourite part of the tiny house, and added that people are often surprised to find that there is a full sized fridge in it.
The kitchen also has an induction hob, a full-sized sink, and lots of counter space.
Opposite the kitchen is Precious’ bathroom, which has large glass shower doors.
“It was imperative for me to put glass doors here just because it opens up the space”, she said.
Precious sleeps on the mezzanine floor of the tiny home, which is accessed by a ladder.
However, the space is very small, meaning that all Precious can do is lie down and sleep there.
“I would love it if there was a little more space for me to at least sit upright,” she said.
Are tiny homes legal in the UK?
TINY houses can be UK regardless of whether they are on a trailer base or not. The legality of tiny houses is all to do with where it is and what you use it for.
If you want to put your tiny house in the back garden of the home that you own, and the overall size of your tiny house does not exceed 19.8m x 6.7m (65ft x 22ft), then good news! You do not require planning permission.
Tiny houses that fit within these dimensions and are constructed on trailer bases are legally classified as caravans, which means you can legally park them within the curtilage of your home without planning permission.
If this is your plan, then it is a legal requirement that you only use the tiny house as additional living space, like an office, a gym, or a studio, but you cannot rent out the space to a tenant.
For those of you who live on farmland, what is defined as curtilage can be complicated. In these cases, and under any circumstances where you are unsure, we recommend that you speak to your local planning officer.
You can put a tiny house on your land as a temporary structure for 28 days, but for any longer than this we recommend that you speak to your local planning officer as different permissions will be required.
Source: The Qube
Precious said that the tiny house is completely separated from her main home, meaning that the guests who rent it out can have complete privacy.
She added that the money she makes from renting her house out pays off her mortgage, whilst giving her some extra cash as well.
Each of her bedrooms is rented out separately, and she charges an average of £800 per room.
“Putting a structure in your backyard provides a ton of options, such as renting it out like I’ve done”, she said.
Precious also plans to build a guest house on the side of her main home in the future, which will enable her to generate even more income.