Question 1

What is a tiny home?

Answer

Tiny homes are smaller than usual living space that challenges traditional concepts of a housing layout. Most people have seen small apartments or wheeled homes on a trailer, but there are many variants. The Ontario Government has a guide to help you determine if your idea fit a tiny home designation. For the purpose of our first project Think Tiny Homes Northumberland (TTHN) is defining a tiny house as a non-mobile build with a maximum square footage of 650 square feet.

Question 2

What is the purpose of Think Tiny Homes Northumberland?

Answer

Think Tiny Homes Northumberland (TTHN) is a chapter of Habitat for Humanity Northumberland that is exploring how tiny homes can address the affordable housing crisis in our county with Port Hope as our planned pilot site. Tiny homes are an excellent housing model as they help establish healthy communities with diverse homeowners that don’t normally have access to the home-ownership market.

Question 3

What kind of tiny homes is Think Tiny Homes Northumberland building?

Answer

For our first project Think Tiny Homes Northumberland (TTHN) is defining a tiny house as a non-mobile build with a maximum square footage of 650 square feet. Our initial project is a micro village concept. This proposed build would involve a single parcel of land developed to accommodate several living spaces in common buildings with shared outdoor space. Such a model allows for a diversity of ownership and community interactions.

Question 4

What’s the difference between mobile homes and tiny homes?

Answer

Tiny homes are built to reflect the quality of a normal house but on a smaller scale. For our project, we are looking for a location at which homeowners can readily access multiple community resources (e.g., buses, shopping, etc) For the purpose of our first project Think Tiny Homes Northumberland (TTHN) is defining a tiny house as a non-mobile build with a maximum square footage of 650 square feet. The tiny homes created for our pilot micro village will not be mobile.

Question 5

Where are they going to be located? And are you building in other areas in Northumberland?

Answer

Our initial project is slated for Port Hope. As our project develops we will also be looking for ways to help independent projects move forward in other communities in the county.

Question 6

Why was Port Hope chosen as the location?

Answer

The original citizens group convened in Port Hope after identifying a gap in affordable housing options in the municipality. Based on the success of the pilot the TTHN chapter would hope to expand the housing model across the county

Question 7

Is there any connection with the County’s effort to provide affordable housing?

Answer

TTHN is committed to coordinating and aligning projects with the County’s affordable housing strategy. TTHN is also coordinating with the Municipality of Port Hope to have this project address as many strategic pillars from the municipality’s strategic plan as possible.

Question 8

Are Tiny homes currently allowed by housing regulations? Will your committee have to campaign for an exception?

Answer

Wherever possible, TTHN will seek to build within what is possible in current bylaws. Port Hope is an excellent starting municipality as its bylaws allows for the possibility of Tiny Homes. Seeking the necessary zoning and by-law approvals will be essential to the success of this project. This is a key priority as part of TTHN’s feasibility plan.

Question 9

Are they to be sold or rented?

Answer

As a chapter of Habitat for Humanity our focus will be on builds that result in homeownership. This does not mean that we are opposed to rental opportunities that involve tiny homes, but rather that our initial project will pursue homeownership as an outcome.

Question 10

When can I get a tiny home?

Answer

We have slated our pilot for a projected start in 2021. We are currently sourcing potential sites for development to propose to the Municipality of Port Hope. We are a chapter of Habitat for Humanity. If you are interested in tiny homeownership and want to qualify for homeownership, please contact Habitat Northumberland to start your application process.

Question 11

Who are these Tiny Homes for?

Answer

TTHN focuses on helping those who would otherwise not have access to home ownership. As an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, we would use their robust and established application and selection process. We aim to provide options to those who may otherwise not be able to afford a traditional Habitat Home (e.g., single-parent households, those on ODSP, etc).

Question 12

How can I help?

Answer

Interested citizens are asked to contact Nicole Beatty at nicole.e.beatty@gmail.com for more information Interested citizens can send us a message through Facebook page. facebook.com/think-tiny-homes-northumberland

THINK tiny HOMES

NORTHUMBERLAND

Frequently asked questions