Finding land for your tiny house is quite difficult in the Netherlands. Land is scarce here, and therefore very expensive. Still, there are several ways to get some ground for your tiny house. We will take you through all the options, and give you a list of all current projects around tiny houses! Who knows, there might be a project in a region where you want to live little. Visit DHA Files Lahore for more information

Arrange land first or start building right away?

Where exactly do you start? That’s a fair question, and no one does it the same way. Some just start building a tiny house, and then see if they can get land. Others prefer to be on the safe side and take care of land first. In any case, it is useful to already orientate yourself on tiny houses. What must your new home meet? How big should it be, and what spaces do you need? Having this clear is useful when you look at pieces of land that match your wishes and needs around your tiny home. If you would like help in determining your requirements, we are happy to think along with you. Is there no suitable project for you where you would like to live? Then maybe the ‘ register of (prospective) tiny house residents ‘ is something for you. The purpose of this register is to link (prospective) residents of Tiny Houses who are looking for a residential location to new and existing initiatives around Tiny Housing. In this way, Marjolein wants to contribute in a small way to the development of the Tiny House movement in the Netherlands.

10x tiny house land projects in development

We have dived deep into Google and have listed a number of tiny house land projects for you. Because the simplest way to find a piece of land for your tiny house is to join an existing initiative. For many of these projects you can still sign up to participate! We try to keep this list up-to-date and include as many current tiny house projects as possible. Are you missing a project? Please let us know. Some projects are temporary, others permanent. For temporary projects, you often rent the land from the municipality. If you join a permanent tiny house housing project, you buy a piece of land yourself.

1. WAGENINGEN, GELDERLAND – THE NUDE

This project is still in its infancy, but alderman Lara de Brito has indicated that tiny houses will be here! The project will mainly revolve around the climate challenge: a lot of space for generating solar and wind energy. But biodiversity and nature development will also be stimulated. Do you want to follow this project? Then also check out the Tiny House Wageningen website, because they are at the forefront of realizing their tiny living dream.

2. BERKELLAND, GELDERLAND

This municipality, which borders Germany, is currently investigating the possible suitable location, but there will be a place for tiny houses anyway. The initiators hope to organize an information evening soon:  you can find their Facebook page here.

3. DE PEEL, BRABANT – PEEL NATURE VILLAGES

There has been a wonderful plan for this project since January 2020. The idea is to revive the Peel with enthusiastic residents. In addition, it gives landowners (such as farmers) the opportunity to ‘farm’ in other ways, such as sending cows back to pasture. This in turn contributes to the nitrogen crisis. And you can count on the fact that beautiful new nature will be created here, such as forest. The idea is that in 2030 there will be 10,000 tiny houses here, spread over about 6 nature villages! A demo location has now been established in the village of Zeeland. Here, Peel Natuurdorpen will create forest, water, wooded banks, hedges and herb-rich grassland with cows, including a tiny house. This will give potential parties involved (such as the government) and future residents a clear picture of the vision. You can you be sure to sign up for this tiny house project!

4. GRONINGEN, GRONINGEN – WEST PARK

There is room here for 30 sustainable tiny houses for a period of 10 years. At the moment all lots are occupied, but they will keep you up to date on the status through their social media channels. Who knows, there may be a spot for you in the future.

5. ALKMAAR, NORTH HOLLAND

This tiny house pilot project started in 2017. At the moment, the 5 available plots are inhabited by happy nature lovers, but the ambition is that more places will be added in the future. The project is a success, so the initiators would like to convince the municipality of Alkmaar with more enthusiastic registrations. You can leave your details via this link, you will also receive a notification when they are looking for new residents.

6. DEN HELDER, NORTH HOLLAND – FALGA GARDENS

Living with less stuff, more freedom and a small footprint. That is the goal of the tiny house project in Den Helder. There is room for 33 tiny houses. The land is rented for €200 per 600m2 per month. At this moment you can still sign up for the interested list . The initiators will keep you informed of all developments!

7. ALMERE, FLEVOLAND – OOSTERWOLD

Oosterwold is pioneering enormously . Quite a few sustainable (tiny) houses have been built in this district of Almere so far. And the residents were allowed to go wild, because they helped design the entire neighborhood! Architect Kvist has realized several houses here, in collaboration with the residents. Even the New York Times wrote about this unique concept. At the moment all places and tiny houses are inhabited, but there are future plans to develop this further. We’ll keep an eye on the project for you!

8. CULEMBORG, UTRECHT – PIONEER FIELD PARISIAN

Pioneering with sustainable tiny houses will soon also be possible in Culemborg. You get the chance to build your own home here. The plan is to realize about 10 homes here, at 250m2 per home. They are still looking for future residents: enthusiasts who want to think along about the design of the entire site. Please read up and contact them here if you are interested .

9. BARNEVELD – BLOEMENDAL

In Barneveld , the municipality has made plots available for tiny houses in the Bloemendal residential area. It concerns four lots for tiny houses and one lot for a detached house. The lots are privately owned after purchase and the buyer must live there for at least five years. In addition, there is a common piece of land that must be maintained by all residents. It is possible to register on the bid form up to and including 11 April .

10. SMALL LIVING ZWOLLE

In Zwolle, the association ‘Klein Wonen Zwolle’ has set up a project to realize a residential location for tiny houses in or around the municipality of Zwolle. Do you want to get in touch with people who already live Tiny or who have plans to do so? Register as a member!

Tiny house lease land

We briefly described this option in our previous article with tips for living in a tiny house in the Netherlands . More and more farmers are interested in leasing plots of land. And you can then put your tiny house on it. Plans such as those of Jan Ottens are increasingly being formed. He set up the Peel mentioned above Nature Villages project . According to him, it is a win-win situation for everyone, he tells the NRC. We predict that more such projects will arise in the future. For now, you can keep an eye on the Peel Natuurdorpen project, or talk to farmers yourself in places where you would like to live. When leasing land, keep in mind that it is always temporary . You can, as it were, rent the land (in which case you pay ground rent ), or you buy the land temporarily (then you pay periodic ground rent ). This depends on what you agree with the owner of the land.

Buy land for your tiny house yourself

Although land is very scarce in the Netherlands, you can of course buy it yourself to place your tiny house on. In itself a very nice solution, because then you can It is useful to take a number of things into account.

• A shopping spree, but buying land is expensive in the Netherlands. Prices vary per location, but keep this in mind when you want to buy land for your tiny house.
• Your tiny home and the location must also comply with the Building Decree . This is a collection of construction rules and requirements that a new-build home must meet today. You may sometimes deviate from certain requirements thanks to the equivalence provision (article 1.3 of the 2012 Building Decree). You have to take a good look at that, because it is a bit complicated. But with a good argument you can always give it a try! You can read more about the current Building Decree on this website of the Dutch government .
• Do you know several tiny living enthusiasts? Sometimes it is possible to share a lot with others and thus buy a piece of land with several people. The rules for this differ per municipality. For this it is therefore also useful that you contact the municipality where you would like to live as a group.

Placing your tiny house on a recreation park

You hear more and more people who find or place a house in a recreation park. The rules for this differ per municipality. In a few cases the park has a ‘residential destination’, but in most cases this will be a ‘recreational destination’. Then you are not allowed to live there (full time). But more and more municipalities allow you to ‘recreate’ for 365 days. Then you cannot register at that address with the municipality, but you can stay there all year round! Arranging land for your tiny house at a recreation park is really a matter of finding out. Think for yourself in which municipalities you would like to live in, and look at the websites of those municipalities . There you can often find all information about living and recreation. Can’t find it? Just give them a call! We like to realize win-win situations for people and nature. This way you live in balance with your living environment, in a holistic way.

Buying a construction site

This is not possible in many places, but we want to mention it anyway. If you come across a dilapidated house, you can always consider buying it. If you then level the terrain to the ground, you have a lot for your tiny house! You must also consult the municipality for this. You can’t always just tear down a house, and you can’t always rebuild something once you’ve done that. So check the options carefully. If possible, it may be cheaper than purchasing an empty building plot.

Start your own tiny house land project

If you are unable to join an existing project, you can of course always start one yourself! Municipalities are increasingly willing to listen to attractive and sustainable plans. A good example of this is Hartenboeren , who are allowed to live on a piece of land owned by the municipality for 10 years. So you can take matters into your own hands. Write a good plan that shows exactly what you want. You also want to describe in your plan what the benefits are for the municipality. What does it mean for society, nature and perhaps the neighborhood in which you already have a piece of land in mind? In addition, do research into the municipality, the environment and the rulesthat apply there. This way you are well prepared at the table at the municipality. Student Suzanne Wassenaar did a nice research into such a plan, which resulted in this legal step-by-step plan. You can start a project alone, but with more people you are stronger. Find a group of tiny house enthusiasts who will join your plan. Usually the available land is large enough for several houses. The chance that the municipality will release it is therefore greater if there is a plan for more than one tiny house.

Your budget

We have now discussed several options for finding land for your tiny house. The budget that you must make available differs per option. Nevertheless, we would like to give you a rough indication of the estimated costs.

• A tiny house (assuming a tiny house that is so well built and insulated that it ultimately gives you the best return): think of costs from € 100,000. That includes all installations and supplies around your tiny house (such as solar panels, a heat pump, ventilation, insulation, electricity, heating and cooling).
•  Buying land : This is difficult to say, because it varies a lot by location. If you move very far to the north or south of the country, with a bit of luck you can get a piece of land for around € 100,000. But in other places in the country you just put down € 250,000 to € 400,000.
• Buying land for a recreation park : this also varies, of course, based on the location and the surface. But you can buy some recreational lands from as little as €30,000.
• Land lease : compared to other countries, the Netherlands is also expensive here. On average you pay € 800.00 per hectare in rent per month.
• Other costs : there are of course more costs that you have to take into account, such as permits. This completely depends on the type of project you start and the place where you do it.

A mortgage for your tiny house

You can of course get money in different ways for a piece of land and your tiny house itself. Maybe you sell your old house, you have a lot of money in your savings account or you can borrow money from someone. But most of the time it comes down to a  mortgage anyway . In the case of a tiny house, this can also be a challenge (yes, tiny living is one big, but fun challenge!). That is why we would like to give you some tips.

• Getting a mortgage is only possible if you really become the owner of a piece of real estate . So you have to buy a piece of land that is completely yours afterwards.
• We know from banks such as Triodos, Rabobank ( Groenhypotheek ) and ING that they are very sympathetic to beautiful and sustainable projects. They have previously provided mortgages to tiny house residents. So here the chance is slightly higher that you will get a mortgage for your tiny house and the land you need for it.
• Your tiny house is more likely to be seen as a ‘real house’ when it is made of similar materials . If you start building a tiny house yourself, keep that in mind.
• The banks also consider it important that you can register at your place of residence via the Municipal Personal Records Database (BRP). That is also something to keep in mind when purchasing a piece of land for your tiny house.