I live in a tiny hippie shack in the woods – trolls call me a ‘squatter’ and accuse me of ‘normalising homelessness’
A YOUNG woman who lives in a 1970s ‘hippie shack’ in the woods has candidly clapped back at trolls who criticise her lifestyle.
Kai, who is based in Canada, lives in a house built on the back of a truck.
But whilst the content creator loves living in the middle of nowhere, she has been brutally targeted by trolls who call her a ‘squatter’ and accuse her of ‘normalising homelessness’.
Keen to clap back to the haters, the influencer, who has over one million followers on TikTok, filmed herself outside her unique home and said: “I’m not a squatter, I actually pay to be out here – pretty cheap rent, but I am paying to be here regardless.
“If you’re new here, hi I’m Kai and I live in this house truck out in the woods.
“I think a lot of people assume that I’m squatting or somehow not allowed to be out here, but actually this is privately owned land, I do pay rent to be here, I have a great relationship with my landlord and I get a whole acre of space all to myself for pretty cheap.”
Inside Kai’s unique home, you’ll find an L-shaped couch in the living room that expands into enough space for a guest bed.
Not only that, but there’s also a kitchen area with all of the amenities anyone would need – including cabinets, stove, fridge spice rack and a sink, which features a handmade faucet.
She even has a dining area, which doubles as an office space, as well as a bedroom loft space.
And in another video, the brunette beauty replied to another mean comment that accused her of ‘normalising homeless’.
To this, she asked: “How about normalising living within your means?”
The frugal woman then explained: “This person thinks I’m normalising homelessness – I mean, I don’t know about you, but this unit right here kind of looks like a house to me.”
But whilst haters have often disagreed with Kai’s way of living, her TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @the_ugly_truckling, has clearly reached the right audience.
The short video has quickly raked up 120,200 likes and many eagerly flocked to the comments to praise her tiny home on wheels.
The rise of tiny homes
By Jonathan Rolande
Property expert Jonathan Rolande told Fabulous: The reason we are seeing more creative ways of finding a home: super-high property prices and rents. Younger people are remaining in the family home later in life to avoid paying high prices and to save for a deposit. With increasingly busy lives, staying within a larger family group makes sense, chores such as gardening and housework can be shared.
Garages are rarely used for their intended purpose as cars are far more reliable and less prone to rust and so are perfectly happy outside. On the other hand, the amount of property space per person has been shrinking – converting a garage can make great sense.
Things to consider. (the boring stuff)
Usually easier than building from scratch but still a lot to do to turn a garage in to a habitable space.
You’ll need to check if you need planning (more likely to be required if the garage is detached).
Building Regulations stipulate many things to make homes safe and secure. Consider
Walls, are they cavity?
Roof height
Windows
How will you get plumbing, electrics and drainage connected
Insulation – it will be cold!
Fire safety
Damp proofing
Also consider if, by converting, you are adding or deducting value from the main home. Garages can add value in busy urban areas where parking is limited.
One person said: “That is the cutest tiny home.”
Another added: “That’s awesome.”
Love that concept! I wouldn’t mind trying it myself
TikTok user
A third commented: “Super cool.”
Whilst someone else chimed in: “If you read this, bless you. Keep leading the way. Disregard the looser commenters.”
At the same time, another user wrote: “Love that concept! I wouldn’t mind trying it myself!”
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Are tiny homes legal in the UK?
TINY houses can be UK regardless of whether they are on a trailer base or not. The legality of tiny houses is all to do with where it is and what you use it for.
If you want to put your tiny house in the back garden of the home that you own, and the overall size of your tiny house does not exceed 19.8m x 6.7m (65ft x 22ft), then good news! You do not require planning permission.
Tiny houses that fit within these dimensions and are constructed on trailer bases are legally classified as caravans, which means you can legally park them within the curtilage of your home without planning permission.
If this is your plan, then it is a legal requirement that you only use the tiny house as additional living space, like an office, a gym, or a studio, but you cannot rent out the space to a tenant.
For those of you who live on farmland, what is defined as curtilage can be complicated. In these cases, and under any circumstances where you are unsure, we recommend that you speak to your local planning officer.
You can put a tiny house on your land as a temporary structure for 28 days, but for any longer than this we recommend that you speak to your local planning officer as different permissions will be required.
Source: The Qube