Could someone with knowledge on the topic explain why minimum housing size is even a thing?
I spent the past few years trying to create a tiny house option. In three different regions, I was given the following "reasons":
1. Assurance of sameness. When a developer sells off plots, she has more success in this when assuring each buyer that all homes in the 'hood will be of a certain design (size, shape, colour). I was told that many people are wary of being surprised, so want it set out what their neighbours will be allowed to do. Most people feel the value of their property is determined in part by what's around it (and I think they're right), so they want to control this factor and offer real estate norms, most common sales interests.
2. Property taxes. Two municipalities claimed they can collect more where a house is standard. I don't know why this would be. Why not just charge per land value, never mind the structures? What info am I missing? Don't know yet.
3. Septic, etc. They assume more people will live in tiny houses per acre than in the same total square footage in one structure. They need to control for movement of waste, etc, but this argument also makes no sense to me. Several areas are still blocking me from putting two people on one acre, but not stopping me from having 18 babies and filling up a standard house on the same system. So that can't be it.
My best guess so far is that it's about the economy. Many parties depend on people building oversized, standard spaces, filling those up with crap, etc. I assume there is simply agreement between industries, or a larger economic plan that aims to ensure people are buying market.
Some workarounds:1. Buy land that has no rules about the primary house size, how soon that must go up, how long a temporary space can exist on it alone, etc. Park your RV or TH there for 40 years while you're "designing and saving for your permanent place" ;) My first two regions had no such option; the third had one available.
2. Buy land in a region that allows tiny homes. (Some do; some don't.)
3. Buy land with hyperregulations, build to code, modify after inspection. e.g. Put in another wall, quietly live in it as "two tiny houses stuck together", a duplex. (Risky, but lots of people have succeeded with this.)
4. Instead of a cute, wood TH, use a nice RV the same way, rent a year-round spot in an RV park (expensive in most of BC though).
5. Stealth vandwelling. Trick one out super nice (see Youtube) and park it anywhere free. (Generally have to move it daily or so.)
6. Be a "farmworker", even part time (e.g., weekends). In many regions, farmers are allowed to rent out a TH to farmworkers (only).
7. Like you proposed, find someone with land that would like an exchange or rent. Illegal in many places for the landowner to allow a person's own dwelling on their land, but lots of people do this. Works fine unless/until a neighbour calls it in.