Tiny houses may cause big challenges

Are you a fan of HGTV, the home and garden network? It’s recently become home to four programs all showing off the new trend in housing – small spaces. These shows sell the fun and functional lifestyle of living in a home as small as 100 square feet.

Coming on the heels of the huge home McMansion trend of the past 10 years, these accessory dwelling units, often called granny pads or tiny houses, are becoming increasingly popular for people looking to downsize, make money or house relatives.

As fun as the idea sounds, these small living spaces bring up big questions related to regulation and safety for local governments.

South Carolina cities are beginning to grapple with these questions as the trend moves from the tourism-based or larger communities to cities of all sizes. From considering parking regulations to discussing density concerns, city officials are talking about all the implications of this new trend.

Get a preview of a July Uptown article on this topic here.