Tiny houses coming to Atlanta?

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It's a trend taking off across the United States, but current laws in the city of Atlanta do not allow for tiny houses.

Atlanta Councilman Kwanza Hall, who is running for mayor, introduced legislation that he hopes will place hundreds of micro homes across the city.

WATCH: Could tiny homes be coming to Atlanta soon?

"It's really about diversifying our housing choice, we want to make sure we have a  range of options, not just high end units, not extremely low end units, but everything in between," said Atlanta Councilman Kwanza Hall.

Right now Atlanta is not zoned for the micro homes that are usually 750 square feet or less, but with the legislation Councilman Hall introduced, R-5 parcels that are zoned right now for duplexes would allow for tiny homes in areas Hall said are desirable, but expensive.

Councilman Hall said it’s about affordable living, but for some homeowners there are concerns the tiny houses could bring property value down.  Hall said he is working with the about 20 neighborhoods that would fall under the new zoning.

"It's the right thing to do, to allow neighborhoods to understand what a legislative change of this magnitude that has citywide impact can have on their lives," said Councilman Hall.

Will Johnston is the executive director of Tiny House Atlanta and said according to his research tiny houses are of interest to a range of people, from millennials to retirees.  Johnston said a tiny house can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000 plus, depending on whether you build it on your own and the size.

Johnston said, long term his organization would like to see bigger development of these small homes in complexes around metro Atlanta.

"Building pocket neighborhoods of micro communities or incorporating micro developments within larger developments," said Will Johnston.

Councilman Hall said once they finish presenting the plans to the neighborhoods, it will go back to the zoning committee and be up for vote in May. Councilman Hall said he hopes this is just the beginning for tiny houses in the city.

"It can be one of the catalyst for a neighborhood renaissance where we can take our legacy neighborhoods and move them forward in non-displacement strategy," said Councilman Hall.

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