The minister of the interior, Taina Bofferding (LSAP), has published a toolkit to promote the implementation of tiny houses in municipalities. Photo: MINT

The minister of the interior, Taina Bofferding (LSAP), has published a toolkit to promote the implementation of tiny houses in municipalities. Photo: MINT

The ministry of the interior has published model regulations for municipalities that wish to allow the development of “tiny houses.” It will be possible to visit one of these removable houses of less than 50m2 on Tuesday 9 May, in Duelem.

Often cited as one of the solutions to the housing shortage, tiny houses are becoming institutionalised. To help the implementation of these removable houses of less than 50 m2, the ministry of the interior communicated, on Wednesday 3 May, on “model regulations” on their subject, which can be easily integrated into a general development plan (plan d’aménagement général, PAG).

“Currently, the implementation of this alternative, sustainable and minimalist type of housing is hampered by the various applicable urban planning regulations.” The minister, (LSAP), said that she was following up on a “request from both civil society, represented in particular by the Tiny House Community Luxembourg, and the municipalities” by publishing a “toolbox.”

Each municipality is then free to adapt its regulations accordingly. “The aim of the toolbox is to guide local authorities in drawing up appropriate regulations for tiny houses on land classified as residential area and thus to allow this new form of alternative housing to be developed.”

Open house on Tuesday 9 May, Duelem

While admitting that they are not “the definitive answer to the housing crisis,” the ministry believes that these tiny houses can “help create additional housing on land that would otherwise remain undeveloped.”

The toolkit can be  (in French). For example, it defines “tiny houses” as being able to be “dismantled and re-installed on another piece of land without requiring any demolition work.” But they are still subject to planning permission as “single-family buildings.” This means that they “can only be built on the plots and lots assigned for this purpose by the PAG and PAP.”

When asked about the number of “tiny houses” existing in Luxembourg, the ministry stated that it does not have this information.

To give the population an idea of what a small modular house can look like, the association Tiny House Community Luxembourg is proposing a visit in Duelem, near Garnech, on Tuesday 9 May. The tiny house is located at 8, rue de l’école, and will be open between 10am and 5pm.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.

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