The Money Mustache Community

Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Real Estate and Landlording => Topic started by: The Blunderbuss on March 31, 2018, 11:50:31 PM

Title: Renting out backyard to tiny house
Post by: The Blunderbuss on March 31, 2018, 11:50:31 PM
With the recent attention given to tiny house living someone has set up a website in my country (NZ) to help people with tiny houses find land to park them on.  We're thinking of listing our suburban backyard, as there is a spot people could park on the other side of the house from our deck and outdoor entertaining area that is not overlooked by any of our living areas, but still within our section approx 10 metres away from our back door.  It seems like it could be a way to earn a bit of passive income, but obviously sharing the property with someone else will have an impact on our life.

Has anyone out there done something like this?  How did it work out and do you have tips? I realise the legalities are probably quite different down this side of the world, so mainly interested in the interpersonal aspects ie common pitfalls, things we need to make sure we discuss in advance, any ground rules you'd suggest, and how to mention them in the ad/bring up without sounding too uptight or difficult to live with.

Thanks in advance
Title: Re: Renting out backyard to tiny house
Post by: pl28 on April 04, 2018, 08:25:54 PM
I don't have any advice since I never had that experience but I would think it could be a good way to generate some passive income if it works. I would be very picky with whom I rent the space to, especially since it so close to your personal space. If you know of anyone living in a tiny home, maybe you can approach them to see if they know anyone who is looking for place, it's better to find someone that might be a friend of a friend.  Also I would also treat this like any rental property and use a contract or some formal agreement in written form, that way all the major rules, fees, and terms are agree prior to this arrangement. Its good to establish who is responsible for yard maintenance any quiet hours, etc. Find a good tenant is the single one most important part of rental our property in my opinion. Good luck and please keep us update if this works for you.
Title: Re: Renting out backyard to tiny house
Post by: joonifloofeefloo on April 04, 2018, 10:43:17 PM
I did essentially that.
And I hope you do it, because man, THs need places!!

The more considered and discussed in advance, the better. It's okay to sound "difficult" or "hard to live with." Those are subjective ideas, and it's best to weed out soggy people and get ones in that are up for clear conversation and solid communication.

I would discuss these:
*can they have pets? what kind? what roaming options do the pets get?
*are they using your house's power? if so, is your house able to provide that? how much power can they reasonably consume?
*what levels of sounds from inside their place (electric guitar? TV on full volume?)?
*what access/use of the yard do they have?
*BBQing, etc?
*how much space around the TH is for their personal use (potted plants, bicycles, etc)?
*is smoking in the yard okay or no?
*where is their mail going? (e.g., if through a slot in your front door, what's their access while you're away?)

+1 to everything in writing, and definitely check what laws will apply in your area. Not just the ones for a TH being allowed, but the ones governing rentals. (Is TH on your property considered a legal tenancy? If so, what laws are in place? If not, what does govern it? Etc.)
Title: Re: Renting out backyard to tiny house
Post by: The Blunderbuss on April 05, 2018, 03:45:42 AM
Thanks for your replies, these are all good things to consider.  The space is well set up to give a tenant a reasonable amount of private, outdoor living, but I hadn't really thought about the noise aspect.  My husband is reasonably sensitive to noise (as in our ordinary neighbours playing music during the daytime seriously grates on him) and even if we don't overlook them we'd still be close enough to hear if they took up the electric guitar, or even played music outside.

I've taken the leap to put an ad up on the website, so will see what comes out of it.