The original plan was for the tiny house to be permanently located in Tyrifjorden, north of Oslo, but when plans changed, it was to be permanently located on a farm south of Oslo instead. What do you do when neither of these options works out?
Since receiving the letter from Vestby municipality in January, things have been turned upside down, flipped, and a bit diagonal.
You can click here to read the long version, but this is the short version:.
Image above: One of the first pictures from the construction of the tiny house 😍 I felt pretty small in there 😅
In 2019, I was at rock bottom. Suddenly single, jobless, and unable to keep the house I owned. It was a tough time, but it was also when the dream of a tiny house arose. A small house with room for just me, a guitar, a laptop, a dog, and hopefully a sweet lady.
Image above: The maiden voyage! From the construction site in Tønsberg, the tiny house is finally on its way home to the beautiful farm in Vestby ❤️
A year later, in 2020, I spontaneously moved to Oslo where I found an apartment, a job, and love. I put away the tiny house dream because I wanted to live with my girlfriend, but when it turned out we couldn’t move in together for several years, and she noticed I was longing for the tiny house dream, I decided to go for it! In 2022, I sold my rat-infested house in Kristiansand, used the sale money to buy the trailer, and by May 2023 it was finished and ready to be transported to Tyrifjorden where I was going to live. Everything was documented on YouTube!
Image above: Here the tiny house has arrived at the farm in Vestby and is waiting for the final parking spot to be prepared 😍
Since my tiny house ended up being the world’s largest, many people found it interesting, and eventually, I had quite a few sponsors for this project. I received great products in exchange for promoting them on social media, which I was really excited about!
Image above: Setting up the space and getting electricity here 😍
But! At the same moment the tiny house was completed at Vestfold Minihus, an opportunity arose for my girlfriend and me to buy something together, and then things changed a bit. In short, we wanted to be south of Oslo and fell in love with Vestby with its proximity to, among other things, the beauty of Son and the sea. As a native of Kristiansand, it felt very right and “home” to be so close to the sea.
And the tiny house, which is my passion and baby, had to come along!
Image above: Here you see the tiny house being pulled by a tractor, passing the red barn on the left. It was so exciting! ❤️
With the tiny house in mind, we envisioned buying a house with a garden large enough to accommodate it. And we found one, but I preferred the rural life for the tiny house, and with enormous luck, I found a beautiful farm in Garder. A perfect parking spot was prepared there, which I rented, and in July 2023 it was transported there (worth reading about!). Every tiny detail was filmed and documented with sponsors, the blog, Instagram, and YouTube in mind.
Image above: Here the tractor carefully comes down the little hill while my fantastic sponsor Skoveng is ready with their long arm to receive it 😍
Now it was finally time to relax, paint some walls, finish installing the rest of the kitchen, lights, toilet, and everything else that remained. And naturally, document everything on my social media.
The joy was short-lived.
In January, I received a letter from Vestby municipality stating that someone had filed a complaint about my tiny house, and the municipality is obliged to handle the case. The complaint came from a woman in Drammen who is highly disliked in the tiny house community, and now I was next on her list to ruin.
You can read about the correspondence with the municipality and its consequences here.
Image above: Had to fully trust the four straps as the house was flown over the field and into the innermost part of the spot 😍
The municipality gave me two options:
Either move the house away from the farm within three months to avoid a fine of 20,000 NOK (20K USD) and daily fines of 500 NOK (50 USD), or apply for an exemption from the LNF area, which would cost 23,500 NOK (2 350 USD). The exemption would be for two years, but since I had already been there for almost a year, this amount would only buy me permission to stay for one more year. At the same time, I would not be allowed to use the tiny house in any way, only store it on the farm.
Image above: Here the tiny house was finally in place and I could relax. Little did I know…
Posting sponsor videos and pictures was also not allowed as the municipality considered it commercial activity. This made me feel terribly guilty towards all the sponsors.
My only option was to find a place to move it to, but where on earth could I put it where I wouldn’t have to move it every two years and also be allowed to use it as I please?
We have to get it home!
So now begins the long journey of figuring out what rules apply in our housing area, whether it is even allowed to have a tiny house here. And then I need to find a transport company that has both a mobile crane and a well trailer, figure out if they will have space and permission to drive on the narrow residential roads here.
Image above: Here she is enjoying herself in her beautiful winter coat ❤️
Where should we apply? How long does it take? And oh my god, how much does this cost? The tiny house preferably shouldn’t be moved after the frost comes, and there’s not much time left!
How do you apply to the municipality for permission to have a tiny house in the garden?
What would you do in this situation?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read ❤️
🌈Irene
