“Tiny houses are the future”: these small houses on wheels designed for minimalist living are booming in the region

Yannick Pirod, Douglas Foulquier, Denis Demaegdt and Sylvain Fourel all have one thing in common: their desire to offer an affordable, sustainable and ecological solution to today's energy and real estate challenges. To do this, they offer tiny houses: these small houses that roll and do not sacrifice comfort or aesthetics. Meetings with these builders who have faced growing demand in recent years.

“The tiny house can only be the future.” Yannick Pirod has known minimalism through his life experiences on the road and on the water, between his van and his years as a skipper on a sailboat. Back on dry land after many trips, he first got involved in participatory and volunteer projects to build tiny houses for social purposes in a few months.

Arriving in Montpellier four years ago, Yannick discovered the Collaborative Carpentry and became a carpenter joiner. It was there that he began to build his first custom tiny house for a client.

A shared carpentry workshop in Montpellier for professionals and individuals. M.F.H

With enthusiasm and determination, he transformed what was a voluntary project into an associative structure and started his own business with Jimaya & co. To develop his activity, launched last March, the founder is incubated at Alter’incub.

The models offered are of various sizes. Jumaya & Co

One of the custom-made models. Jumaya & Co

In his construction, Yannick follows several methods: the wooden frame for its cost and durability, the steel frame for its infinite recycling and the insulation plated with plywood. He also respects the DTU standards for thermal insulation in wood wool and resistance. “I am careful to avoid thermal bridges and to use insulation materials that are suitable for the region, such as wood wool,”, he explains.

The tiny houses are insulated with wood wool. Jumaya & Co

The interior is customized according to the needs of the customers. Jumaya & Co

He designs tiny houses of various sizes, adapted to modest budgets, particularly for social projects capped at 20,000 euros. The models range from 12 to 25 m2, sometimes even offering mezzanine spaces where “every square meter counts to obtain a pleasant, functional and comfortable space”.

Custom-made

In the Hautes-Pyrénées, in Loubajac, the company Lou Tiny house only manufactures custom-made tiny houses in 6 to 8 weeks for a cost that varies between 65,000 and 70,000 euros.

Surrounded by a competent team, Sylvain Fourel, the founder, ensures the complete production of these habitats, from 3D design to finishing, in France and Europe. “They are designed for a minimalist lifestyle, because with less space, you buy fewer unnecessary objects”, he explains.

Interior of a tiny house. Lou Tiny House

The interior is adapted to the four seasons. Lou Tiny House

Each tiny house is adapted to the specific needs of its occupant. “We spend a lot of time with our customers to understand their habits and adapt the space accordingly”, explains the builder.

The layout generally includes a kitchen area, a dining area, a bathroom, a sleeping area and even a relaxation area. All with comfort adapted to the different seasons.

Exterior of a tiny house. Lou Tiny House

Exhibition at the Grande Exposition du Fait en France at the Elysée. Lou Tiny House

His tiny houses are built with sustainable and natural materials: “We use wood for the structure and bio-sourced insulation such as hemp, cotton wool, or straw.” The latter are resistant to natural risks such as flooding: “In the event of a risk of flooding, you simply have to move the tiny house. This is an advantage that solid constructions do not have”, he explains.

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Shipping containers as housing

Originality is the key word at GreenNest. This company founded by Clément Giudicelli alongside his best friend Douglas Foulquier is based in Vendargues. Launched in 2023, it transforms shipping containers from “A to Z” into mobile homes, chalets, tiny houses and high-end garden studios, allowing them to be adapted to the varied needs of users, despite a structure that is often “constraining and restricted”.

Douglas Foulquier (left) and Clément Giudicelli (right) are the founders of GreenNest eco-housing. GreenNest  

The two friends work closely with outdoor tourism experts and interior designers. Their constructions come in different formats (from studios to 4-room apartments), ranging from 30 to 40 m2, and are designed to be installed in gardens as well as on private land, under certain conditions (see box). “They are suitable for those looking for a different way of living”, assures Douglas. The largest model is made up of two containers assembled in the same way as “LEGO®”.

The containers are purchased at source in commercial ports, in France or Spain. They are built with Corten steel (or self-protecting steel) which allows them to withstand any test. Water, sand and concrete are not used in the construction process.

The insulation is made of rock wool and the materials are recycled. These are the first to integrate solar panels on tourist accommodation. The manufacturing time is approximately two months and then the model is directly installed at the customer's premises. “We take care of everything, from installation to prior declaration”, he says.

The smallest model of 14 m2 is designed as a compact studio. GreenNest

“These units can be moved easily, for example to meet the needs of temporary accommodation in resorts or on festival sites”, he describes. This flexibility allows their occupants to benefit from a transportable and reinstallable habitat, thus meeting the needs of seasonal workers, event organizers, or even communities looking for quick accommodation solutions.

The interior of a transformed shipping container. GreenNest

GreenNest is also aimed at individuals, including a model designed for people with reduced mobility (PRM). “We developed this model to allow families to install a parent or grandparent in their family garden, rather than placing them in a retirement home”, develops the co-founder.

“It is possible to modify the interior design over the years to adapt to changing needs”, assures the specialist, specifying that the furniture and interior decoration can be replaced or modernized if necessary.

Accommodation for people in precarious situations

The idea came from a customer request. It is in this context that the company Selvea, specialized in the construction of custom modular buildings or from standard models, launched in 2018 a subsidiary dedicated to the manufacture of tiny houses, Les Frenchies, to meet the needs of professionals, local authorities, as well as emergency accommodation projects.

The AGATE model is a real studio intended for students, seasonal workers or young couples. Les Frenchies – Sylvain FOUREL

The tiny houses (between 12 and 20 m2) designed by Sylvain Fourel, the president, are used in very varied projects, ranging from tourist accommodation to emergency accommodation, including reception solutions for people in precarious situations. They are generally produced between 4 and 6 weeks, “depending on whether it is a tiny house that is a bit complicated to make, with a lot of things inside”, for a cost that varies between 35,000 and 75,000 euros.

These are insulated on all six sides, “since we insulate the walls, the frames, and the floor relatively substantially”. The use of ultra-quiet heat pumps makes it possible to effectively regulate the interior temperature.

The OPALE model is a wooden microhouse that offers the comfort of a furnished apartment, for a price 3 times lower. Les Frenchies – Sylvain FOUREL

In Montpellier, the Gestare association has set up eight tiny houses to house the homeless. “They feel like we saved their lives”, he says.

How to live in a tiny house ? What the law says

You can stay up to three months on private land without asking for permission. If you stay parked for more than 3 months in the same place on private land, you must make a prior declaration to the town hall. If you park temporarily on public land, you will have to file a parking permit.

For tiny houses that remain parked in a fixed location, a prior declaration of works is sufficient if the floor area (measured according to the CARREZ law, from a height of 1.80 m) is less than 20 m2. Beyond this area, a building permit is required.

If it retains its mobility elements, it is legally considered a trailer. It must then have a registration document and a registration plate, with a unique chassis number.

According to the public service website, the law for Access to Housing and Renovated Urban Planning (ALUR), adopted in 2014, specifies that a removable habitat can be installed in urbanized areas (U zones), areas to be urbanized (AU zones) and so-called STECAL sectors (Limited Size and Capacity Sectors), also called “pastille zones”, under certain conditions (dimensions, roof slope, materials, appearance of facades, implantation, etc.).

Under certain conditions, the ALUR law authorizes the installation of tiny houses on non-constructible land, provided that they are not used as a main residence (less than 8 months per year) and that they are installed on land already intended for this type of housing.

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