The Tiny Tiny House portion of this article that will follow this preface will be preceded by data that may at first seem unrelated. As of 1.15. 2025, here on the Masthead editorial blog there are a total of 1053 published posts. As of 1.16.2025 the Daily Business News on MHProNews there are a total of 17,512 Daily Business News articles. Both sets of facts are according to the back-end summaries provided by our digital editing and publishing software. Beyond the Daily Business News and Masthead on MHProNews, there are hundreds and hundreds of more articles under other categories, but just those two categories mentioned yield 18,575 published articles. There is simply no other known digital platforms in the U.S. manufactured housing industry trade media that even comes close. It is no wonder that MHProNews dominates in content and traffic alike, apparently more than the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) plus all of their key linked bloggers and publications combined.
On this date, the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has only 3 articles that appear under their site search under “homeless.” On 12.28.2023 there were none on the MHI website. But a closer look reveals that one of those three on the MHI website is only available for members only and so it can’t be used to influence the public discussion because it isn’t available to the public. Two other articles are a mere mention of homeless and don’t detail the connection between a lack of affordable manufactured housing and rising homelessness. Some of MHI linked bloggers do better than MHI but still have only limited content and do not arguably connect the dots in the same depth and detail, much less with the frequency that MHProNews has done. Perhaps all of MHI’s bloggers and MHI combined may have less than 40 articles on this date over the course of however many years they have collectively existed.
By contrast, consider this demonstration. The following site-search using the MHProNews site search tool for “homeless” was performed on 1.15.2025.
There are some 20 posts per page in those results referenced by that screen capture above. So, there are about 1000 posts on MHProNews about the causes, implications, or problems of homeless and its links to the importance of the lack of inherently affordable manufactured housing.
Note that what follows about ‘Tiny Tiny House’ should not be construed as an endorsement. These are the claims made by the company and the media outlet GoodGoodGood.co (in Part II) on 1.13.2025 that cited their recently announced product. That said, the reason ‘solutions’ like this exist is precisely because there aren’t enough affordable housing units to keep thousands of members of the general public from sliding into homelessness.
Let’s be even more candid and transparent. The more you cover a subject, the more you cover any topic using sources across an array of media, it is simply human nature that a person of normal intelligence will begin to understand that subject better. Hopefully that understanding will be clarified in Part III as it is applied to modern, mainstream manufactured housing.
Part I From CBC.CA news
Toronto man creates tiny mobile homes to help unhoused people escape the cold
Homes are attached to bicycles; include heat, electricity and safety features
After seeing people sleeping outside in the cold year-after-year, a Toronto man is building tiny mobile homes attached to bicycles to give temporary relief to those who are unhoused.
Ryan Donais started building the small modular homes this summer as he watched the city’s housing crisis becoming more dire. He said he didn’t want to go through another winter seeing people living on the streets, so he put his background in construction to use.
“I just don’t see any changes. It’s been many years with people outside and it’s not changing. I couldn’t imagine being outside for years, you know?”
Since then, Donais has built three homes at a cost of about $10,000 each, most of which has been paid for through donations to his GoFundMe page.
He took inspiration form Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who built wooden shelters during the pandemic — until the city removed them, claiming they were a fire hazard.
Not wanting his tiny homes to suffer the same fate, Donais said he designed his mobile shelters to hopefully avoid backlash from the city.
Each of the small units has electricity and heat, running water and a bed, as well as safety features like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and a fire extinguisher. Donais said the units are also designed with Ontario’s e-bike regulations in mind so that they can legally travel on the city’s bike lanes if they have to be moved.
WATCH | Step inside his 1st tiny mobile home prototype:
So far, Donais said he hasn’t encountered any issues.
Terra Sawler moved into one of Donais’ mobile homes about a month and a half ago after spending close to three years living on the street.
“This is definitely the safest and warmest I’ve been since I’ve been out here.”
After burning down two tents just trying to stay warm, Sawler says this is definitely a safer option. In addition to keeping her warm, Sawler says the tiny home has also allowed her to have something she hadn’t had in years — a good night’s sleep.
“When you’re out on the street, you don’t sleep every night. You sleep every couple nights,” she said.
“And you gotta take turns and shifts with people, right? ‘Cause I mean, I’ve had my shoes stolen off my feet, I’ve had my [sleeping] bag cut off, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out here.”
As part of its housing action plan released in 2020, the City of Toronto has committed to creating 1,000 new modular homes for people experiencing homelessness. So far, the city has completed 216 homes on city-owned sites, its website says.
Other municipalities in Ontario have started to use modular homes to address a lack of housing.
…
Since building his first tiny home in the summer, Donais has since registered his own not-for-profit organization, Tiny Tiny Homes, to help create more.
He says he’s happy to be able to give people like Sawler an escape from the cold with his mini modular homes. But his homes aren’t meant to be permanent, and he wishes he didn’t have to build them at all.
“It’s a terrible that we’re letting people sleep outside. Housing is the answer.”
Part II Per GoodGoodGood.co is the following.
Man invents tiny mobile homes that fit on the back of bicycles to combat rising homelessness
Each Tiny Tiny Home model is insulated, weatherproof, and watertight, with thoughtful essentials, including a sofa that converts into a bed, solar-powered electricity, a desk, and 12 cubic feet of under bed storage.
The small units also have electricity and heat, running water, and safety features like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and a fire extinguisher. Future prototypes will also include a camping toilet and sink.
According to CBC, the units are also designed with Ontario’s e-bike regulations in mind so that they can legally travel on the city’s bike lanes if they have to be moved.
Donais launched a GoFundMe to help buy materials to build out these mobile homes and has raised over $90,000, just shy of his goal of $100,000.
An interior view of a Tiny Tiny Home. Photo courtesy of Ryan Donais/Tiny Tiny Homes
“The first model, I funded myself,” he explained on the fundraising page. “Each unit costs around $5,000 (not including sweat equity) to build, and I will ensure that every penny is spent wisely to create a safe and comfortable home for those who need it the most.”
Since the summer, Donais has also created a registered nonprofit to help bring more of these shelters into the world.
According to the Tiny Tiny Homes website, the organization’s mission is to “replace unsafe tent encampments with secure, mobile homes and help rebuild lives with dignity and hope.”
For Terra Sawler, who moved into one of the mobile home units after spending close to three years living on the street, that mission has been accomplished.
“This is definitely the safest and warmest I’ve been since I’ve been out here,” Sawler told CBC. “When you’re out on the street, you don’t sleep every night. You sleep every couple nights … I’ve had my shoes stolen off my feet, I’ve had my [sleeping] bag cut off, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out here.”
While Donais is happy to help people as much as he can, he knows his shelters aren’t meant to be permanent, and he told CBC he wishes he didn’t have to build them at all, pushing the local government to provide more safe, affordable housing to people in need.
“It’s terrible that we’re letting people sleep outside,” he said. “Housing is the answer.”
The crisis is also a personal one for him; Donais shared that his brother has faced homelessness and addiction over the years, as well.
“I want every homeless person to have one of these,” he said. “Tent encampments are not a healthy environment.”
As Donais gains more funding, he hopes to rent a larger shop to build and store materials, therefore lowering the cost of each unit. He also hopes his new nonprofit status will help garner the support of grants and other public supporters.
…
Part III Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
In no particular order of importance are the following observations.
1) Ryan Donais/Tiny Tiny Homes is obviously not building enough homes fast enough to make a serious dent in this tragic and apparently worsening problem. But one of the issues may be their mobility. Just as the formerly homeless woman said, she experienced having her shoes stolen from her. What is to keep a bike-based shelter from being stolen? For a variety of reasons, perhaps Donais/Tiny Tiny Homes may reach scale, perhaps he won’t.
2) While Donais’ Tiny Tiny Homes are shelter, they are not housing in the sense that someone could live in them without bathing and bathroom (i.e.: toilet) facilities being readily available. MHProNews has reported on several types of pods and pallet structures that are used as emergency shelters.
3) Much of the problem of homelessness, as each of the videos and reports above clearly state and/or allude, is a question of public officials and regulations. Regulations are keeping even the solutions to making temporary shelters for the homeless more difficult. Be it the U.S. or Canada, as in the reports above, a similar remark to the one below could be made.
4) Just because one of the founding father’s didn’t say this apparently misattributed or paraphrased remark doesn’t mean that the insight from that quote isn’t relevant or true.
5) Tiny Tiny Homes is a Canadian story, but on our side of the border with our neighbor to the north, the problem is apparently worse. HUD is supposed to, per their own media release footers:
“HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.”
Clearly, that is not occurring. Despite billions more in spending on housing programs, homelessness rose under Biden-Harris. The current scenarios that Biden-Harris (D) has left Trump-Vance are not sustainable, as what is linked below and follows demonstrates.
6) The economy and the jobs situation aren’t strong as Trump-Vance prepare to take their oaths of office, rather, they are weak. See the following economic snapshots.
Here’s the “strong economy” Biden is handing to Trump: Americans’ inflation-adjusted pay has plummeted over the last 4 years and just fell again in Dec; things aren’t getting better – they’re deteriorating… pic.twitter.com/oUzhHiZD9k
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) January 15, 2025
This is the worst start to a fiscal year EVER:
– Spending is up 10.9%
– Receipts are down 2.2%
– FYTD deficit up 39.4% at $711 billion
They’re handing Trump a ticking time bomb… pic.twitter.com/q1DYC1Ep5q— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) January 15, 2025
Food prices are continuing their rapid accent as inflation reaccelerates; if you’ve seen wholesale prices for beef and eggs lately, you know consumer prices are going to keep spiking; the Biden legacy is unaffordable food: pic.twitter.com/57wm3WRNjF
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) January 15, 2025
E.J. Antoni: “The American dream, things like homeownership and retirement. These things are now just that, dreams and nothing more… and it’s because we are all paying the hidden tax of inflation.”pic.twitter.com/CGXRVsbsAp
— TFTC (@TFTC21) June 5, 2024
7) The Q&As with Copilot below are relevant.
Can you find any evidence that former and future President Trump or J.D. Vance mentioned manufactured housing specifically during the 2024 campaign?
Can you find any evidence that former and future President Trump or J.D. Vance mentioned manufactured housing specifically during the 2024 campaign?I couldn’t find any specific mentions of manufactured housing by former President Trump or J.D. Vance during the 2024 campaign. However, both have discussed housing policies and the broader issue of affordable housing. For example, Trump has emphasized reducing regulatory hurdles to building new homes, while Vance has highlighted the high cost of housing as a significant threat to the American dream.
If you have any other questions or need more information, feel free to ask! …”
8) Then there is this Q&A with Copilot.
While estimates of the number of housing units needed vary, common figures used are in the 4 to 7 plus million units ranged, correct? Former NAHB CEO Jerry Howard said that conventional builders can’t build housing that is affordable for first time buyers. The average age of first time buyers keeps increasing. NAHB’s land/zoning expert Nicholas Julian said they have to have subsidies in order to make developing housing affordable. Confirm or clarify those remarks and then shed light on the following. Isn’t there an evidence-based case to be made that without an application of enhanced preemption provision of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 and the construction of millions of new HUD Code manufactured homes, there is no way of solving the affordable housing crisis?
You’re right that estimates for the number of housing units needed in the U.S. often range from 4 to 7 million or more. Former NAHB CEO Jerry Howard did indeed state that conventional builders find it nearly impossible to build homes that are affordable for first-time buyers due to high costs. The average age of first-time homebuyers has been increasing, reflecting the affordability challenges.
NAHB’s land/zoning expert Nicholas Julian has also highlighted that subsidies are often necessary to make developing affordable housing feasible. He pointed out that zoning regulations can act as barriers to affordable housing and that without subsidies, producing affordable housing would be untenable for builders and developers.
Regarding the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, the enhanced preemption provision is designed to ensure that federal standards for manufactured homes take precedence over conflicting state and local regulations. This provision aims to facilitate the construction and placement of manufactured homes, which can be a crucial component in addressing the affordable housing crisis.
There is indeed a strong evidence-based case to be made that without leveraging the enhanced preemption provision and significantly increasing the production of HUD Code manufactured homes, it will be challenging to solve the affordable housing crisis. Manufactured homes offer a more affordable alternative to traditional site-built homes and can help meet the high demand for housing. By reducing regulatory barriers and promoting the construction of manufactured homes, it is possible to make significant strides in addressing the housing shortage and improving affordability.
: : : : :
8) MHProNews has been saying for the better part of 15 years that enhanced preemption enforcement under the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 (a.k.a.: MHIA, MHIA 2000, 2000 Reform Act, 2000 Reform Law) is critical. While Canada’s Z240 regulations of their version of manufactured homes are compared at times to HUD and manufactured housing, there are apparent differences, per some sources. There are issues on both sides of the border with rising homelessness, and while the reports above may obliquely suggest that government actions (local, regional, federal, etc.) are contributing to the housing crisis rather than solving it, neither has made that a clear topic with respect to the Tiny Tiny Home product. However well intended that portable shelter on a bike may be, there are reasons to think it may never scale and could find it difficult to compete against other temporary shelters already on the market.
The issues are many and seemingly complex, but they could be boiled down to this. Governmental intervention in the form of regulations fosters the housing crisis rather than solves it. Potential free market solutions to the housing crisis, in the U.S. or Canada, are often thwarted by local zoning. In the U.S., the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 and its so-called “enhanced preemption” provision was supposed to be a solution, but HUD has routinely failed to intervene by using that authority. For approaching 25 years, the status quo has existed, in part, because several larger members at MHI like the status quo, as stated in their own IR presentations. Other MHI members, stated or not, are apparently going along with that because it keeps the industry smaller and fosters consolidation. While MHI member Frank Rolfe is arguably wrong on several topics, he may have a point when he said there is no desire by “special interests” to solve the affordable housing crisis. The Masthead on MHProNews plans to continue to monitor and report as deemed warranted.
[cp_popup display=”inline” style_id=”139941″ step_id = “1”][/cp_popup]
Stay tuned for more of what is ‘behind the curtains’ as well as what is obvious and in your face reporting that are not found anywhere else in MHVille. It is all here, which may explain why this is the runaway largest and most-read source for authentic manufactured home “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykova
