News relaeses

Whenever a year comes to an end, it's time to look back. A lot has happened for the NEW HOUSING team in 2024. 2025 will be just as eventful. In this review, we would also like to take a look behind the scenes of NEW HOUSING.

Visiting HanseBau in Bremen in January

Part of the work in the trade fair sector also includes regular visits to competitors' events. In January, part of the team made the trip to Bremen to visit the HanseBau. The construction fair covers a range of aspects of building, and a small area of the site was dedicated to 2024 Tiny Houses. The team is always happy to make new contacts.

Workshop finalisation round in March

The Tiny House Festival is the most important meeting place for the community in Europe. In addition to the numerous houses, products and services that are important for living in a small space, NEW HOUSING also impresses in terms of content. The Tiny Talks have always been very well attended. They cover topics such as the separating toilet, ecological building, but also reports from tiny house residents. The fully booked workshops were back in 2024. They were last offered in 2019. And because demand has grown steadily over the years, the NEW HOUSING team finally decided in March to revive the workshops and finalise the plans with the relevant speakers – with great success. They will be part of the festival again in 2025. The advantages are obvious. The workshops are limited to 25 participants. This allows topics to be worked on together in detail. How can you use tiny houses as an investment tool? How do you start living in a tiny house? These and other questions will be answered again in 2025.

Design of the press talk in April

For the first time, the press talk took place the day before the NEW HOUSING opening. This replaced the classic press tour, which no longer fit with the festival concept. After the topic had been decided (‘Tiny House settlements – hurdles, opportunities and paths to the village of small houses’) and the participants selected, the get-together took place in April. In addition to project manager and talk show participant Ramona Jonait, moderator Christian Klerner and PR manager Matthias Jundt were also present. The other participants – Fabian Müller, Regina Schleyer and Nadine Nebel – also got to know each other in April.

Festival in June

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly the fifth edition of NEW HOUSING, which took place from 28 to 30 June. For three days, everything at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre revolved around living in small and very small spaces. More than 30 houses, almost 80 exhibitors, an expert forum, workshops and much more impressed visitors and the NEW HOUSING team alike.

Strategy day in July

After the festival is before the festival. Shortly after NEW HOUSING, the team met in Karlsruhe to plan the next event in 2025. Lessons learned from the past trade fair were drawn and adapted for the coming year. New ideas were developed, old ones discarded.

Prepare documents in August

What do trade fair teams actually do when there is no on-site trade fair? The short answer: they prepare. The long answer: in August, the documents for exhibitors were prepared in such a way that a suitable package is available for every sub-sector of the industry. This includes the various price models, but also a legal review by the in-house department. An important part of the documents also concerns data protection.

Presentation of the plans in September

From the budget and where it goes to the planning of the exhibition areas and conceptual further and new developments – every edition of NEW HOUSING is planned in a complex and well-thought-out manner. At some point, the plans are presented to the management – this happened in September. Ideas and plans are critically weighed up and discussed on an equal footing. The plans are then adjusted and finalised accordingly.

Starting signal for 2025 in October

The acquisition process began in October. In concrete terms, this means that exhibition stands are planned and prepared in close consultation with the NEW HOUSING exhibitors. Exhibitors from previous years, as well as interested parties and potential new exhibitors, are contacted. This process usually continues until shortly before the trade fair.

End-of-year spurt in November and December

The last two months of the year are still fully taken up with planning for 2025. What press events will there be? Which loyal exhibitors are still on board? Who is new? What is happening on social media in the coming year?

And 2025?

Next year will be another very eventful one for NEW HOUSING. In addition to the press talk, which will take place for the first time on the opening day of the fair, numerous other projects are in the pipeline. The workshops, which were sold out in 2024, are to be further modified and, ideally, expanded. And other ideas that cannot be mentioned here yet are in the planning and preparation stages.

Anyone visiting NEW HOUSING at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre will quickly realise that there is a large community of tiny houses, modular houses and the like. Since 2018, thousands of interested people have been coming to the event to exchange ideas, gather information and find inspiration for their own miniature home.

NEW HOUSING has also continuously developed its offering for visitors over the past few years. It now includes a moderated specialist forum, workshops, a live podcast on stage and a talk on how tiny house communities can be created.

But what about outside the tiny house industry?

Tiny House Association and industry standard

The Tiny House Association, founded in Karlsruhe, has existed since 2019. NEW HOUSING is one of the founding members. The association is led by chairwoman Regina Schleyer: ‘The number of members continues to grow. However, there are always members who leave the association.’

In addition to its traditional lobbying work for those living in small spaces, the Tiny House Association was also instrumental in the creation of the first ‘industrial standard for small buildings’ last year. The standard is the first generally valid basis for finding land and building tiny houses. It is intended to help in dealing with authorities and contractors. There are currently around 40 pure tiny house settlements nationwide – and the trend is rising.

Building type E

The fact that building in Germany needs to be made easier has also been recognised by the Federal Ministry of Construction under Klara Geywitz, which is why the ‘Building Type E’ has been launched. ‘E’ stands for ‘simple, experimental and efficient’. The minister is quoted as follows: ‘With Building Type E, we are enabling simple and experimental construction. Building is too expensive in Germany. We often tend to build to a gold standard. This makes planning and construction complex, labour-intensive and expensive. We want to change that. (...) With ‘Building Type E’, project planners can deviate from building standards in a legally secure manner in order to complete a building faster and more cost-effectively. (...)’

It is difficult to say what specific impact building type E will have on tiny houses. But one thing is clear: the path to more individual living concepts is now easier to follow.

Tiny houses and architects

Andreas Grube, district chairman of the Karlsruhe/Nordbaden Chamber of Architects, likes building type E: ‘This was also the result of an initiative by the Chamber of Architects. We welcome the new building type because the energy balance can now also be improved through the materials used. This also helps our profession when it comes to arguing in favour of sustainable construction.’

And what role do tiny houses play for architects in general? ‘They are an issue for us, but not nearly as often as conventional buildings. They are particularly popular with older people,’ Grube continues.

But: ‘Ten years ago, tiny houses didn't even play a role. That has changed a lot in the meantime. People are consciously scaling back and reacting to increasingly scarce space. For example, a colleague of mine recently completed a project at Schuttersee in the Ortenau region,’ Grube continues. Architects also enjoy planning tiny houses. Grube: ‘It's about creating something wonderful in a small space.’

Amendment to the Federal Building Code

At the beginning of September 2024, the then still existing federal cabinet had approved the draft amendment to the Federal Building Code (Baugesetzbuch, BauGB). The BauGB is the central legal basis for urban development in Germany. The legislative process is to be completed in the Bundestag by the end of the year. The Bundesrat does not have to give its consent here.

The amendment is intended to ease the tense situation on the housing market. The special regulation of Section 246e BauGB means that a separate development plan will no longer have to be submitted in future. In addition, building extensions should now be allowed everywhere – even in housing markets that are not strained – without the need to amend the development plan. Until now, this option was only available in individual cases.

Previously, redensification was only possible if it corresponded to the so-called character of the neighbourhood. This should also be easier in the future.

The amendment of the Federal Building Code opens up the possibility for the construction of alternative mini-houses at least a little more.

Tiny house study

The fact that tiny houses are continuing to fight their way into the mainstream of society can also be seen from the fact that studies are being conducted on the subject – such as that by the Ministry of the Interior of Schleswig-Holstein in collaboration with the Technical University of Lübeck. The ministry wanted to shed light on the opportunities, limitations and risks of tiny houses.

The study presents mini houses as a ‘cost-effective, sustainable and pragmatic solution’. ‘The study shows the opportunities offered by tiny houses and where their limits and risks lie, and it refutes prejudices. It shows that there is no universal assessment, but that it always depends on the individual consideration,’ said Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, as quoted by the ministry itself. And further: ’Furthermore, it is questionable whether a tiny house can always meet all the different requirements.’

The study concludes that people do not live in tiny houses for economic reasons alone. Rather, the study finds that this way of life is a conscious decision to reduce living space, possessions, costs, effort and responsibility. According to the study, local authorities and investors see tiny houses as an opportunity to build on and densify sealed or small residual areas. The full study can be found HERE.

Conclusion

One thing is clear: tiny houses have long since ceased to be just a trend. Both politics and science and associations are dealing with this form of living. And with NEW HOUSING, a trade fair has been established throughout Europe that deals with mini-houses and life in and around them.

Short interview

‘The seriousness has increased’

Chris and Caro from ‘tinyon’ have been making a podcast specifically about ‘living in a tiny house’ since April 2022 and are very well connected in the scene.

How do you rate the development around mini houses?

Chris and Caro: "The general interest in the topic has clearly reached the broader sections of society, but the reasons for this are fundamentally different. Since our podcast deliberately deals with the tiny living lifestyle, we are also noticing here that people are dealing with their personal dream of it more concretely than ever.’

In addition to the podcast, the two of them also offer seminars and training. How has your customer base changed?

Chris and Caro: "The target group is the same, but the seriousness with which people approach their own journey to a tiny house has increased significantly in recent years. Interested parties still do their own research at the beginning, but then realise that they want professional support from people who live in a tiny house themselves. We know the challenges and also the shortcuts from dreaming to living in your own mini house.’

What conclusion do you draw now? Are tiny houses still a trend or already a permanent solution?

Chris and Caro: "The trend is literally taking small steps towards a permanent solution. In our view, general world events are ensuring that more and more people are dealing with the topics of deceleration, conscious consumption and independence. In addition, every project that is implemented, from a small single-family house to a tiny house settlement, creates trust on the part of the local community. Life in a tiny house is becoming more ‘adult’ and is slowly taking its place as an established form of living.’

There are currently around 40 developments in Germany specifically for tiny houses and other mini-house forms. At the first NEW HOUSING press talk in June, moderator Chris Klerner discussed an excellent overview of the industry with Regina Schleyer, chairwoman of the Tiny House Association in Karlsruhe, which was founded in 2019, Fabian Müller, founder and managing director of Vilcomo, scientist Nadine Nebel from the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, and Ramona Jonait, project manager at NEW HOUSING.

Click on the image to watch the video!

Visitors to NEW HOUSING 2024 were most interested in Fabian Müller's land exchange for tiny houses. On a large map, people offering and seeking land were able to place a pin on a map of Germany and thus connect with each other.

The land exchange has also been available in digital form since the beginning of October. In an interview with NEW HOUSING, Müller explains how the exchange works, how many pins have already been placed and how it will continue.

NEW HOUSING: What happens now with the searches and offers and how will the land exchange continue?

Fabian Müller: So far, we have been processing each entry by hand. Often, landowners are not left alone, and we want to prevent that. That's why you can only enter the region on the land exchange and not the exact address. If we see that interested parties and providers match, we suggest a video conference. There, the parties can get to know each other. After that, we withdraw. But of course we continue to offer our help. So far, we have been working on the project on a voluntary basis and for idealistic reasons.

NEW HOUSING: The next NEW HOUSING will take place from 27 to 29 June 2025. What can we expect from you then?

Fabian Müller: I don't yet know in what form and how, but I will be there.

According to the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), there are currently around 30,000 wind turbines in Germany – most of them in Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the German Environment Agency, wind turbines must be dismantled after 20 to 30 years.

But what happens to the discarded parts?

One possibility is tiny houses. The Swedish energy company Vatenfall, for example, is converting wind turbine nacelles into tiny houses. The houses are ten metres long, four metres wide and three metres high – including the kitchen and bathroom. The furniture is sustainably produced or used, and the table is made from the material of a recycled rotor blade. The tiny house is heated by a heat pump, a photovoltaic system and a solar boiler. The mini house was developed by the Dutch design firm Superuse Studios.

From feed silo to apartment

The feed silo towers of the Thomann family from Bad Säckingen have also been repurposed. Grandpa Erich and granddaughter Nina converted the former feed silos into living space. The result is 20 square metres of living space – plus a nine-square-metre terrace.

Although modular homes are becoming increasingly popular, many tiny houses still have wheels. The architecture firm Olson Kundig presents a completely new form: the tiny house on rails. The two-storey house can be disconnected from the main house and driven to the edge of the forest.

Whether it's Mexican delicacies, unusual chips or delicious sweets - in addition to its more almost 70 exhibitors and more than 30 houses, the workshops and the expert forum, NEW HOUSING also impresses in culinary terms. Never before has the range of food and drink on offer been as extensive as this year.

A total of nine food trucks are waiting to cater for visitors to NEW HOUSING. For the first time, the food on offer is divided into several areas - the Tiny Giants Area, the Atrium and the Action Hall.

Tex-Mex, curry and more

Texicos from Wiesbaden will be represented for the first time at Europe's largest trade fair for small living spaces of all kinds. Friends of Tex-Mex cuisine and lovers of quesadillas, tacos and burritos will get their money's worth in the Atrium.

The company Fächerfritten will also be at NEW HOUSING for the first time. The Karlsruhe-based company offers special chips in chilli cheese or guacamole flavours. Fächerfritten will be located in the Atrium.

Kostbar Waldkirch from the town of the same name also operates a food truck in addition to its restaurant. The company will be in the Tiny Giants area at NEW HOUSING. Special burger variations are on offer.

If you like Italian food, Porta Pinsa Via is the place for you. Also located in the Tiny Giants Area, the mobile caterer from Karlsruhe offers savoury and sweet pinsas.

Speaking of desserts. An old acquaintance of NEW HOUSING is Popice. The Karlsruhe-based company has three stands at Europe's largest Tiny House Festival - in the Atrium, in the Action Hall and in the Tiny Giants Area. Visitors can also satisfy their caffeine cravings there.

Lovers of a good curry will find what they are looking for at two food trucks. Street Cookery's offer Indian curries. The Karlsruhe-based company has often been represented at the trade fair and will be located in the atrium this year. The Sonnenhof Currymobile is also an old favourite at NEW HOUSING. These curries are available in the Tiny Giants area.

With Leftovercocking, an old acquaintance is back at NEW HOUSING. The Karlsruhe-based company offers bowls, pitas and more - all of which are sustainable, fair and 100 per cent vegan. Their food can be purchased in the Atrium.

Chicken Dinner also offers chips, curry sausage, chicken nuggets and other fast food in the Atrium. The company from Neckarsulm was already at NEW HOUSING last year.

Fluidum is all about liquids. Whether water, soft drinks, long drinks or other beverages, visitors can find a large selection in the Tiny Giants Area in Mannheim, just like in 2023.

NEW HOUSING is the most important meeting place for the tiny house community and fans of small living spaces throughout Europe. In addition to the almost 70 exhibitors and more than 30 houses, visitors can expect numerous lectures, workshops and much more.

To ensure that visitors on site, as well as those interested or undecided at home, are always up to date on what is on offer, a live blog will provide information on everything important for the first time during the fifth edition of NEW HOUSING.

When is the next presentation in the expert forum? What does the Tiny Giants Area look like? What's happening in the Social Media Corner? These and other questions will be answered in the live blog, which can be found on the NEW HOUSING homepage.

Visitors also have the opportunity to ask their specific and very individual questions via the live blog - and receive answers. Visitors will also have the opportunity to take part in small surveys or keep up to date with how NEW HOUSING is being received on social media.

The live blog will go online on 17 June.

Participants were asked to complete a total of five questions. The results summarise the responses from Instagram and from the newsletter sent out at the beginning of April. The percentages are rounded up or down.

1. I am interested in...

a. ...single households: 52 per cent

b. ...a shared home: 15 per cent

c. ...family in a tiny house: 37 per cent

2. I prioritise living...

a. ...in the country: 40 per cent

b. ...in the city: 15 per cent

c. ...that offers me a mixture: 45 per cent

3. My living situation can be described as follows:

a. Apartment block: 54 per cent

b. Mini house: 7 per cent

c. Single-family house: 34 per cent

d. Other: 5 per cent

4. At NEW HOUSING I am most looking forward to... (multiple answers possible)

a. ...viewing the houses: 82 per cent

b. ...the specialist presentations: 13 per cent

c. ...the workshops: 3 per cent

d. ...the exchange with the community: 24 per cent

5. Which Tiny topic are you particularly interested in? (multiple answers possible)

a. Planning a tiny house: 74 per cent

b. Financing: 37 per cent

c. Land/parking spaces: 37 per cent

d. Furniture and interior design: 37 per cent

e. Tiny house community: 11 per cent

f. Building law: 53 per cent

At NEW HOUSING, all visitors' interests are catered for. Around 50 different houses - for singles, two people or families - can be viewed, the expert forum will feature exciting presentations on all important topics relating to small-scale housing, and these topics will be explored in depth in the workshops.

All information and more can be found at www.new-housing.de.

Tiny houses, modular homes and other forms of small housing - NEW HOUSING is Europe's largest festival for these topics and will open its doors this year from 28 to 30 June.

With "tinyon", Chris&Caro have one of the most successful podcasts for all people who don't need a lot of space but still have everything they need to be happy. Now NEW HOUSING project manager Ramona Jonait and Chris&Caro met up - in the 47th edition of "tinyon".

The three of them talked about the upcoming NEW HOUSING. One of the topics was the workshops, which are back at Europe's largest tiny house festival after a break. "Sharing ideas, working on topics together, practical application - that's what the workshops are all about. I'm looking forward to seeing how they are received by our participants," says Jonait.

You can find out what other topics the three of them talked about and what else visitors can look forward to HERE.

Living space is scarce, property prices are rising and the dream of home ownership is becoming increasingly distant. What applies to Germany is also a reality in Switzerland. And just like in Germany, tiny houses and the like are also a possible alternative for the Swiss.

The researchers

The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts wanted to find out exactly what potential they have. An interdisciplinary research group was set up for this purpose. It consists of Stephanie Weiss, Kathrin Leitner (both from the Institute of Sociocultural Development), Yvonne Seiler Zimmermann and Ersilia Perpignano (both from the Institute of Financial Services Zug), Felix Bucher (Institute of Innovation and Technology Management) and Selina Lutz and Julian Franke (both from the Institute of Architecture). The research project was commissioned by Innosuisse - Swiss Agency for Innovation Promotion ITC "Space & Society" (HSLU).

The results

The researchers came to the conclusion that there is potential in Switzerland in terms of demand for small forms of housing. Around half of those surveyed already had experience of small-scale housing or could imagine living in one. The researchers differentiated between "experts" and "interested parties". The other half could not imagine living in a tiny house ("not interested").

Study topic in the expert forum

Researchers from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts will be presenting why this is the case, what differences there are between different phases of life when it comes to preferences for the size of living space and other findings from the study at the NEW HOUSING expert forum from 28 to 30 June.

More information on the study can be found on the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts website. The programme of the expert forum and further information on NEW HOUSING can be found at www.new-housing.de.

The journey to your own tiny house, modular house or other mini home usually begins with the search for a suitable plot of land. Although the former association "einfach gemeinsam leben" from Wolfratshausen in Bavaria has disbanded, it has published a checklist for property suitability. Here it is.

Visitors to NEW HOUSING from 28 to 30 June at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre can obtain in-depth information on the subject of land. Further information on NEW HOUSING can be found at www.new-housing.de.

With more than 800 million users in over 200 countries, LinkedIn claims to be the largest professional network in the world. NEW HOUSING is now also represented there.

"After the successful growth on Instagram and the steadily increasing number of new manufacturers and suppliers, LinkedIn was the next logical step to reach both visitors and potential exhibitors and to have a target group-specific effect on the industry. The NEW HOUSING - Tiny House Festival has seen itself as a community event right from the start, which is why we can be found wherever the community is," says Ramona Jonait, Project Manager of NEW HOUSING.

NEW HOUSING has been active on Facebook and Instagram for some time. More information about Europe's largest Tiny House Festival can be found at www.new-housing.de.

At NEW HOUSING - Europe's largest Tiny House Festival, visitors can view more than 30 tiny houses of all kinds. In addition, almost 70 exhibitors will provide information on topics such as accessories, equipment and more.

Since its first edition in 2018, NEW HOUSING has also been a meeting place for the tiny house community. At the 2024 edition, experts will also be giving talks in the forum every day from morning to evening on topics of interest to mini-home enthusiasts.

The Green Deal

A presentation by Dutch company Ralston, for example, will focus on the Green Deal for the European paint market and what solutions are planned. According to the Association of the German Paint and Printing Ink Industry, the Green Deal is intended to "lay the foundations for a sustainable European Union and promises nothing less than a comprehensive transformation of the European economy". The aim of the Green Deal is for the European economy to grow and at the same time be modern, resource-conserving and circular. Ralston will also report on the topic of "Recognizing inspection errors on wood, identifying causes and learning about solutions."

Finance ethicly correct

Another topic in the expert forum is an essential one: financing a mini house - and doing so ethically. Ethik Bank shows how this can work. After the financial company exhibited at NEW HOUSING for the first time in 2023, the bank is also part of the Expert Forum this year.

The special thing about Ethik Bank is that it claims to be an ethical-ecological direct bank. This means that customers' money is not invested in companies that are active in the fields of armaments and nuclear power or that permit child labor. Companies in which the Ethikbank invests must also be actively committed to sustainable business practices.

The entire forum program can be found on the NEW HOUSING website.

The presentations of the past NEW HOUSING were all recorded (in german). They can be watched on the Tiny YouTube channel HERE.

For the scientist, living in a small space also means a better quality of life. Conscious consumption and appreciation of the things that surround them instead of superfluous consumption are reasons for this.

But what about other people? Is it possible to draw a more general picture of satisfaction and living space? That's what Nebel wants to find out.

Single-family home most popular

According to the figures provided by the scientist, the classic detached house is currently the most popular form of housing in Germany. Due to climate change, a rethink is also becoming increasingly urgent in the housing sector, Nebel writes in her "Smaller homes" article. According to a study by the Federal Environment Agency, the 1.5-degree target can only be achieved by reducing per capita living space to 41.2 square meters by 2050. In 2021, the average living space per capita in Germany was still 47.7 square meters - and rising.

Nebel recently began her research on the topic. The results of the project will also be presented at NEW HOUSING 2024 and published on the Tiny House Festival website.

Residents live in a real laboratory

Part of the project is also a real-life laboratory in Jülich, North Rhine-Westphalia. This is gradually growing, while the residents are repeatedly questioned and interviewed. The focus here is on the question of the extent to which well-being changes - or not - with increasing living space.

Nebel part of the discussion on June 27

By the way: Nadine Nebel will also be taking part in the NEW HOUSING panel discussion on June 27, the day before the festival opens. The discussion will be streamed live and the video will also be available afterwards on the NH website.

Inflation and rising costs are increasingly presenting house builders with major challenges - and decisions. The question of whether to build a home is increasingly being answered in the negative. Tiny houses offer an alternative. Although they are smaller at around 40 square meters, they cost only a fraction of a conventional house at around 80,000 euros.

More than just a trend

The tiny house trend has therefore become a real alternative in the meantime. Lübeck University of Applied Sciences and the State Ministry of the Interior, Municipal Affairs, Housing and Sport of Schleswig-Holstein have commissioned a study on tiny houses - and have now published the results.

The study focused on the question of whether tiny houses can provide affordable housing on a mass scale. It also investigated which expectations tiny houses can and cannot meet.

The results

According to the ministry, one result is that there is no universally valid assessment. Expectations and fulfillment are as varied as tiny houses themselves.

According to the study, people don't just live in a tiny house for economic reasons. According to the ministry, the decision to choose a tiny house lifestyle is a conscious one. In addition to the costs, aspects such as the reduction in effort and responsibility, which are seen as liberating, play a decisive role. The study concludes that tiny house dwellers often lead a particularly reduced and sustainable lifestyle.

The whole study

According to the study, municipalities and investors see opportunities to use sealed areas or small spaces for building purposes. You can read the whole study HERE.(german version)

Further information on NEW HOUSING is available at:

www.new-housing.de