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The struggles of owners of movables to find long-term locations have made them a shrinking part of the tiny-house market. “Tiny homes on wheels are always going to be out there,” says

Michael Buccino, founder of Micro Living, a tiny-home company in Steamboat Springs, Colo. “But to sustain the industry, you’re going to see more and more tiny houses built on foundations.”

There are challenges with those, too — the costs of land, building a foundation, connecting to sewer or septic systems, and legal restrictions in many places on the minimum size of permanent

residences. But municipalities have become more open to this version of tiny houses, particularly when used as what are known as accessory dwelling units (ADUs). This is when a tiny home is

added to a property where there already is a conventional house. The small residence can serve as a home for an aging parent or as a rental unit. Some also see  potential  for these

dwellings in the Airbnb market. For public officials, part of the appeal of tiny houses as ADUs is that they can become a new type of affordable housing. The average cost of building a tiny

house is only $23,000; the cost of buying one is closer to $60,000, still far below typical home prices. “Every city and community in the United States is very aware that housing needs to

change to accommodate people entering retirement,“ observes Ryan Mitchell, creator of The Tiny Life website. “These are people who have larger homes but are looking for a smaller place to

live.” Adds Gabriella Morrison, who with her husband, Andrew, founded Tiny House Build (both are longtime tiny-living advocates): “Many communities are required to provide a certain

percentage of units as affordable housing. Many are required to build these units themselves, which costs a ton of money. Tiny houses, on the other hand, are essentially self-propagating

affordable housing units.” David Bailey and Stephanie Harrison-Bailey built this tiny house in Ybor City, Fla., and plan to break ground on a second one soon. It has 365 square feet on the

ground floor and a small loft for a home office above. Rental demand for the house has been strong, they say. Richard Danielson/AP Photo A GAME CHANGER? Another positive development for

owners was a change made in January to the International Residential Code (IRC) to establish, for the first time, specific guidelines for tiny houses. States use the IRC as a model for their

own codes. “It’s a game changer,” says Buccino, “because tiny homes, whether they’re on wheels or foundations, have a new set of codes that your local building department can now follow.

It’s not changing the electrical or plumbing systems. All it does is say that if a house is under 400 square feet, you can build it to tighter standards, like the width of a staircase.

Instead of being random, everyone can be under the same set of rules.” A few communities have already become more welcoming to tiny houses. Back in 2014 the small community of Spur, Texas

(not far from Lubbock), proclaimed itself “America’s First Tiny House Friendly Town,” eliminating the minimum size requirement for homes on foundations. Its rules have tightened a bit since

then. House designs now must be submitted for approval, and tiny homes must be connected to the town’s electrical, water and sewer systems.