I live in my dream tiny home on wheels – but I’m constantly trying to escape eviction and hiding from the cops
A TINY HOME owner in the United States has gone from living the dream to living an endless parking nightmare.
Tough rules are making it difficult for Darryl Bray, 28, to find a good place to live.
The situation means he is constantly trying to escape eviction, living behind blacked out curtains and locked doors, and hiding from the cops every now and then.
He had hoped to live in a remote farmland in Connecticut. Instead, Darryl found himself parking his 84-square-foot home on wheels in an industrial estate outside, where he works, outside of New Haven.
He has lived behind the complex for more than two years, but despite getting a parking space offered by the estate owner, living in peace has been a distant reality for Darryl.
The city zoning enforcement officer once put him on notice that he was violating various zoning codes.
While no one has ever followed up, the tiny home owner lies low when he sees a police cruiser patrolling the complex.
He said: “I do fear coming out of my tiny house and having the police see me there.
“I have blackout curtains on the windows, and I lock my door whenever I’m in there.”
He started out near a noisy auto shop that was attracting unwanted attention, but has since moved to a quieter space.
Darryl’s situation highlights the stress of trying to find a place to park your home, which is currently one of the biggest challenges of tiny-house living in the US.
The lifestyle has been made trending by TV programmes like Tiny House, Big Living, and social platforms such as TikTok, with users posting tours of surprisingly spacious properties.
A good parking spot, an issue often glossed over when it comes to going tiny, is one of the many challenges faced by home owners.
Finding the right house, making sure the land is secured, and getting your amenities in order are other factors to consider, as explained by Jill Kanto, who spent £25,000 going tiny in 2015.
Oregon man Mack Carlson also owns a tiny home on wheels, but has been threatened with a daily charge of $1,500 despite the house being situated on his own property.
He constructed the tiny home last year in Bend to house individuals, including his own family, who were desperate to find affordable housing in the city.
Zoning regulations, specifically in densely developed regions like the New York metro area, usually do now allow full-time living in temporary properties like R.V.s or tiny houses.
Most tiny homes are built on wheeled trailers that can be towed. However, unlike R.V.s, they are generally not wheeled for touring, therefore limiting owners’ mobility and location options.
Advocates hope the movement will gain more ground in coming years now that the International Code Council has approved a model code for tiny houses for inclusion in its International Residential Code, the most widely recognized residential building code in the US.
In the meantime, however, aspiring tiny home owners will need to resort to creativity, flexibility and networking skills.
Amy Garner, 30, and John McCarthy live in a 340-square-foot waterside tiny house at a marina on the Quinnipiac River, in New Haven, and got their dream location thanks to a conversation over coffee with a well-connected architect.
For about $400 a month, including utilities, the couple enjoy up-close views of the river and the docks through the glass front of their Traveler XL, a high-end tiny home.
“It’s perfect,” said Amy.
“You wake up in the morning, and the sun reflects off the water, and you get this twinkle effect on the bedroom ceiling.”
They have been at their dockside spot since April without issue, other than the occasional curious passers-by.
Now they have a like-minded neighbour living in an Airstream, an aluminium-sided travel trailer, who recently moved in behind them.