Tiny portable home: Measuring the rental preferences

Abstract

An increasing number of people are experiencing difficulties obtaining housing, and it therefore seems necessary to create a varied range of affordability measures. Tiny portable houses constitute a temporary use of land that unlocks urban land supply, but the success of this novel dwelling type as an affordable measure will depend upon popular acceptance. Previous research has not empirically tested whether a tiny portable house can satisfy diverse housing preferences, nor has it explored how a temporary location influences residential choice. The current study accordingly uses an experimentally designed online survey including 280 respondents living in the Netherlands and presenting them with several realistic choice situations. The results indicate a favorable attitude toward tiny portable houses and highlight different attributes as the essential choice drivers, including unit type, renting period, and energy label. The results also underline that young, single-person households in urban areas are most likely to occupy these dwellings in the Netherlands.