Are Tiny Homes Sitting Unused in Storage?

Be sure to read the August, 2025 & January, 2026 Updates, below

An October 5, 2024 column in The Seattle Times by Danny Westneat, “The saga of Seattle’s empty tiny homes is building to a head” highlighted the absurdity of more than 200 of our tiny homes sitting in storage, unused, while more than 9800 of our homeless neighbors sleep in tents, encampments, and rv’s. To cap it off, the writer included the incident of a homeless woman breaking into one of our homes in our back storage area, locking herself inside, and sleeping in there for two nights. So yes, in the Fall of 2024, with the numbers of our fellow Seattleites who are homeless increasing every year, we had over 200 finished tiny homes in storage, waiting to shelter a neighbor who was otherwise on the streets and help them along the way to permanent housing. Bureaucracy can be maddening.

UPDATE: August, 2025 – the situation has improved considerably

After just one village opening in 2023-24, there have been three openings in 2025 (Eagle Village 2.0 in March, Rosie’s Village 2.0 and Kingfisher Village both in July) and at least two more villages are announced for Seattle as of August. As we predicted last Fall, village openings do not happen with regularity but rather tend to happen in waves. As village sites are ready we need to be able to provide typically between 40-65 homes all at once. Our past experience is that, sooner or later, bureaucracy unsticks and more villages are built – and we’re going to continue to be ready when that happens.

Supporting any non-profit is a personal choice.  We respect your decision no matter what it is.  Most importantly, we celebrate your commitment to be a part of the solution in the past, present, and future with your donations, your time commitments, and your word-of-mouth sharing of the tiny home solution with family, friends, and colleagues. HOMELESSNESS IS SOLVABLE!  Over the years, we have overcome many challenges and we seem to finally be moving beyond this one too. 

UPDATE: January 1, 2026 – Finally, up to TEN more villages!

After an 18-month bottleneck deploying our tiny homes in the region, four villages opened in 2025, three in Seattle plus one in Tacoma. Two more villages are currently under construction in Spanaway and Tukwila, and up to four MORE villages are planned for 2026. Taken altogether, NEARLY 500 TINY HOMES will be installed to fill UP TO TEN VILLAGES in 2025-26.

Thank you for your ongoing confidence in tiny homes as we work to implement our Three-Year Plan to put a roof over the head, and a lock on the secure front door, of every homeless neighbor who wants one by the end of 2027. You can help by volunteering or donating to buy materials. Hope to see you at The Hope Factory!