Despite the growing enthusiasm for tiny houses, it still isn’t easy to legally build them for full-time use. Zoning laws and building codes, by and large, require a minimum square footage for new-construction homes, and progress to reduce that square footage is slow.

“There are only a handful of cities across the country that directly address tiny houses,” says Alexis Stephens, the national coordinator for the Tiny House Association and the producer of Tiny House Expedition. Stephens is making a three-part documentary about living legally in a tiny home after she found that “there’s a lot of interest [in tiny living], but people are confused by the zoning codes and regulations, and feel intimidated to go to the city government.”

READ MORE: CURBED