One of which is the tiny homes movement. As the name suggests, this is about downsizing your life – getting rid of everything you don’t need and moving into a smaller, usually custom-made homes. In our latest Housing Futures survey, 14% of people said they’d consider living in a micro-mansion or tiny home.

Because these news homes are small, they can usually be built pretty much anywhere. And thanks to neww planning rules, tiny homes ranging from 100 to 300 sq ft can be erected in gardens without planning permission, as long as they’re to house relatives.

How tiny are they?

This all depends on the individual, but those who are truly embracing the movement are going small. A micro home is usually between 100 and 250 sq ft, compared to a typical two-bed flat, which is around 750 sq ft. But they can be built to suit your tastes.

They usually consist of a single room on the ground floor with either a raised bedding area or an extra floor above with the bedroom. Many aspects are cleverly hidden into the design, with fold away desks, sliding doors and multiple room uses. Some are even moveable. Think studio flats but with your own front door, no neighbours, and wheels.

Is it cheaper?

There are a lot of variables to consider, but if you’re coming from an average London flat, which costs around £480,000, you’re bound to find a cheaper option by going tiny.

A basic kit can be bought from under £10,000. You’ll still need land to build it on, which is costly, but thankfully you’ll need less of it. Or you could build in a family member’s garden if they have space.

Also, the running cost are considerably cheaper as you’ll be heating less space and have less lights to power.

But, if you’re fully embracing the tiny house movement you’ll want something built to your needs. This means hiring designers, architects and builders. And these won’t be cheap – while you’re paying less for materials - and in theory, construction should be faster - you might have to employ specialist designers as fitting all you need into such a small space can be tricky.

Then you’ve got to consider getting fixed up to the utilities. As many people build their tiny homes in places away from city centres, this might be harder and more costly than you’ve imagined. Some forego such ‘luxuries’ as on-site toilets or hot running water.

Is it better for the environment?

While your physical footprint will be considerably smaller and you’ll hopefully be using less energy, like any home its green credentials depends on the initial design and construction, and on the person using it.

Some tiny homes are built to basic standards, which mean they’re not very energy efficient. This has led some dwellers to bring in electric heaters, which are far from green.

But, as mentioned above, these homes use considerably less power – one site, tinyhousebuild.com, claims the average tiny home has just 6 light bulbs and emit a tenth of the CO2 a regular size home does.

In fact, they use so little power that solar panels can often be used to provide 100% of their electricity

Then there’s the construction. Many are built from sustainable timber that, when the house is no longer used, can be recycled. The life span of these homes tends to be shorter, so there’s no huge blocks of concrete that needs dealing with afterwards.

Is it practical?

For a family, moving all your stuff and beds into a 10 square metre home is far from practical. But for single people it’s becoming easier to do.

Gone are the days where you’d have shelves of CDs, DVDs and books – these can all be squeezed onto a single electronic device. You can ditch your car for a bike and reduce your wardrobe to only the bare minimum.

They’re also popular options as short-term space, or for those who work in multiple locations and simply need a crash pad. Often graduates who want to move out of their parent’s house but can’t afford their own home will set up tiny homes in their parent’s gardens.

But even then, it not only takes some getting used to but it can be a lot of hard work and maintenance. Whether you can make it work very much depends on your attitude.