A movement is underway to change bylaws and zoning in municipalities across the province to make tiny houses legal to live in.

Tiny houses are small houses on wheels, between 100 and 400 square feet.

A group of tiny house enthusiasts -- including representatives from the company Mini Homes of Manitoba Inc. and the Tiny House Festival Foundation -- held a public forum Thursday to talk about the benefits of having these smaller homes in the community.

"It does come down to what your minimum size requirements are. There’s still that kind of archaic way of thinking, that you need to have a home that’s 800 square feet and up, and that’s not for everybody," said Anita Munn, co-owner, Mini Homes of Manitoba.

Lisa Chessari, co-founder of the Tiny House Village Foundation, said they have spent eight months putting together tools, resources and a proposal to create a tiny house village.

She said they want people to be able to use the same tools and proposal to create tiny house villages in any municipality in Canada.

“Because that’s where it starts. It starts that conversation right where there is no direction on how to classify tiny houses,” said Chessari. “And we’re talking to anyone, city councillors, city planners, single-parents who want to live affordably, to a senior who wants to be connected to a tiny community that they can be a part of.”

Chessari said millennials who don’t want a mortgage might be interested in tiny houses as an affordable alternative.

The group said their mini-home movement is not a fad.

They hope to keep the discussion going until tiny house living is made legal across Manitoba.