What are the true costs of building a tiny home in New Zealand?
Tiny Living has been a cultural sweep across New Zealand the past few years and it is easy to understand why. Tiny homes are cheap to build, environmentally friendly, stylish, minimal, take up less land, economical to run and much more. But all too often, people who are interested in Tiny Homes are caught off guard by the true price it takes to build and install a permanent Tiny Home.
Cube’s “Aoraki” tiny home design
While Tiny Homes are cheap, there are often unexpected costs associated with transport, service connections, and consenting that are required to place a home on your site. At Cube Cabins, we want to ensure that you know exactly what you are paying for and what’s necessary to make your Tiny Home dream a reality.
Understanding these terms will help you understand the required associated costs for your Tiny Home:
Ex-yard Pricing (aka the sticker price)
Ex-yard pricing is the cost of the fully built home pre-consented, before it leaves the yard (or facility) it is constructed in. This price doesn’t allow for shipping, foundations or any on site consents or service connections.
Site Survey
Before a dwelling can be located on site, a LINZ approved survey must be completed to ensure that it is safe, legal, and within the planning rules for the site.
Council Consent
To install a structure with service connections (eg kitchen, bathroom), you will need building consent and possibly resource consent. There are also potential fees for the consent application, council fees and, if it is a new site, there may be infrastructure contributions to consider.
Be sure to check any existing covenants that may be on the site you are considering.
Transport or Site Build Costs
The Tiny Home will either be shipped to you or be constructed on site. This will depend on your home’s size and site accessibility.
Tiny Homes are generally built at our yard and then delivered
Foundations
This is what your Tiny Home will sit on, there are many options, concrete slabs, steel screw piles, timber piles, concrete ground beams etc. The choice of foundation will depend on your site, your budget and if you want to have the option to easily remove the Tiny Home in the future.
Service Connections
Think power, water, data, sewage, stormwater, etc.- all the essentials. These will need to run from the house location to the nearest mains or site connection.
Decking
Think decking, steps, patio, outdoor living areas.
Don’t be intimidated- these items are required for building any consented dwelling with service connections. Whether it’s a Tiny Home or New Zealand’s next mansion, these costs are always required. The great news is that with a smaller house, you can expect most of these associated costs to be much less than a traditional larger build.
At Cube Cabins, we build stylish, fully compliant, ready to be installed Tiny Homes and pride ourselves in being fully transparent and informative with our clients around true cost. From initial design to when we hand the keys over, Cube will fully manage your project and ensure that your Tiny Home experience is a seamless and enjoyable one.