37 tiny homes that were seized by Los Angeles city officials are being released back to the homeowners over the next two weeks. According to the LA Times, a protest at City Hall drew the attention of many bloggers and supporters. The added attention has pushed the city to make a decision about what to do with the structures it had seized. Also, LAIST points out that the news of releasing the homes came after a federal ruling that said “the city cannot simply seize and destroy a homeless person’s property.”
The seized tiny homes were built by Elvis Summers who, according to NPR, was inspired to do something for the homeless because of a friendship with a homeless person. He raised $100,000 through a GoFundMe page and built a number of buildings to distribute throughout Los Angeles to help get the homeless off the street. Each home is 48 square feet and has solar power and a camping toilet.
