A Solution to American Housing Insecurity:

“There’s no place like home,” said Dorothy. Yet, millions of people in the United States may face eviction, foreclosure, or homelessness in 2021 and beyond. America is on the brink of an unprecedented housing crisis in the wake of Covid-19. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of Americans were facing housing insecurity, defined as the limited or uncertain availability, access, or the inability to acquire, [or retain], stable, safe, adequate, affordable housing and neighborhoods. The economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated American housing insecurity.

The federal government, and various states and localities, have taken actions to avert a housing crisis in the wake of COVID-19. While these measures undeniably help mitigate widespread eviction and foreclosure crises, they do not fully address the more fundamental American housing challenge—an inadequate supply of affordable housing at all income levels, a long-standing problem that COVID-19 has only intensified.

Even with the rental assistance, mortgage forbearance, and eviction moratoria provided by governments, thus far, many Americans are still “falling through the cracks” and legal loopholes. The U.S. simply needs a greater supply of habitable, affordable, and sustainable housing that advances residents’ human flourishing—defined as housing that affords “a life of dignity, self-respect, and satisfaction of basic material [and social] needs.”

This Article argues that tiny homes—homes that are less than 400 square feet—are an understudied and potentially big solution to the problem of housing insecurity, particularly during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. “The tiny house movement is an architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes.” It first emerged in the early 2000s, but gained increasing popularity in the United States with the advent of the television shows, “Tiny House Nation in 2014, and Tiny House Hunters.” While these shows profiled market-rate tiny homes, some homeless people working with housing advocates began to transition from tent cities to tiny home villages for homeless people.

Now, increasing numbers of localities and nonprofits work in public and private partnerships to develop tiny homes and villages as emergency housing or affordable housing in addition to housing for homeless people. Tiny home villages, if designed properly, can be an affordable and efficient way to add to the housing supply, providing residents with a community in which to advance their human flourishing as well as obtain shelter.

The tiny homes villages this Article analyzes often consist of more than one tiny home, including some villages that can accommodate up to 350 tiny homes, with plans for even more to come. Each tiny home serves one to two people, and some villages can accommodate families. The villages provide either temporary or permanent housing for unhoused people.

The villages often encourage sharing and social cohesion through communal spaces and shared facilities. In many villages, “[r]esidents often share basic amenities such as bathrooms, water, and cooking facilities as well as green spaces and other basic resources.” The villages foster community enhancement through sustainable design practices, gardening, and sometimes sweat equity, in which residents contribute to the construction of homes or shared facilities. Some villages provide microenterprise opportunities, and social, health, and job placement services to connect residents to opportunities.

The communities, therefore, endeavor to provide more than just shelter by providing opportunities to restore residents’ dignity and connections to community and opportunity. Many municipal leaders are learning that well-designed tiny home communities may serve their respective economic as well as social objectives. Due to the smaller size of the units, the shared facilities and utilities, the low costs and ease of construction, the use of private donations and volunteer efforts, and the smaller environmental footprint, tiny homes villages can be cheaper, quicker, and more environmentally sustainable than other affordable housing options, such as those produced by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.