Renters ‘almost immediately’ demanded these 200-square-foot duplex tiny homes on wheels near Tampa for $1,300 a month — see what’s inside the units
- Escape Homes has two tiny homes in a 42-foot duplex on wheels.
- The two units, which measure about 200 square feet, rent for $1,295 per month.
The cheapest of the two rentals in the popular Escape Homes tiny house community near Tampa, Florida is just $1,295 per month. But there are two major problems: Both are only about 200 square feet. Depending on how you look at it, these renters have to share their home with someone else.
A little more than a year ago, Wisconsin-based Escape Homes — known for its small arm of manufacturing homes on wheels — began deploying its units in Thonotosassa, Florida to create the Escape Tampa Bay community. Now, after more than 30 homes, all but one of those properties under 400 square feet have been claimed.
Options in the newest extension of the neighborhood cannot be purchased. Instead, the units at Palm Court are available for rent only, including what Escape Homes says is the first all-electric duplex tiny house in the United States.
There is no other property in the tiny home community like the new “eBoho Duplex.” From afar, it looks like a typical 42-foot trailer home. However, upon closer inspection, the long platform actually contains two independent dwellings with separate interior spaces and entrances.
Inside the mirrored but identical homes, one room contains a queen bed, a sofa, a closet, and a kitchen. Behind another door, the bathrooms have a small sink next to a full-sized shower.
In such a small space, space-saving tricks are essential: they also have folding tables, tall shelves, and a washer and dryer in the kitchen. Like other homes at Escape Tampa Bay, renters each have their own private deck and access to the community pool, small garden, additional storage and an office.
“This is how you create a 21st century neighborhood,” said Escape’s CEO.
The rent for a semi-duplex is $1,295 per month, while the most expensive apartment in Palm Court costs $1,800 per month for 390 square feet. For comparison, the average rent in Tampa is $2,200 per month, according to data from Zillow. At those low prices, all six units were claimed “almost immediately” — either before they were listed or within 36 hours afterward, the Escape Homes CEO said.
“Because the reaction to them has been so positive,” Dobrolski says this won’t be the last small duplex house we’ll see. The company also owns a parcel of land located across the street from this neighborhood. In the future, this property will likely be built with more such twin houses.
