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Why Do Local Governments Prohibit Tiny Homes?
There are several reasons local governments prohibit tiny homes and why they still haven’t become entirely mainstream.
- Concerns about Property Values: Imagine a suburban neighborhood filled with $400,000 McMansions. For many people, these houses represent their significant financial investment and their primary source of savings. The fear is that if these areas were to be “overrun” by tiny homes, property values could decrease and affect other homeowners' savings and investments. Unfortunately, local officials usually fail to realize that most tiny homeowners would rarely consider placing a tiny home in suburban areas where land values might often be twice the price of the tiny home itself.
- Confusion about How to Classify Them: Another zoning and ordinance-related concern with tiny homes is that many housing officials have no idea how to classify them. Are they RVs, mobile homes, backyard cottages, or something completely different? The fact that tiny houses are relatively new to the housing market has left many local governments unsure how to classify them and what type of zoning and regulations they fall under.
- The Mobility of Tiny Homes: Since many tiny homes are built on wheels, there is certainly a gray area regarding zoning and regulations. If tiny houses are built on a foundation, they must adhere to local building and zoning regulations. When they are built off-site and moved around regularly, however, it can be hard to determine what set of zoning and regulations they must follow.
- The Size Prevents Conformity to the Established Rules: The relatively small interior size of tiny homes makes it nearly impossible to adhere to some of the most common building standards and regulations. For example, the stairs on a tiny home will usually have to be steeper than regulation to fit into the house design. The ceiling height in loft areas is usually well under the regulation height. Until building officials modify these regulations to the specific context of tiny homes, many of these homes will continue to be breaking code.
A Few Loopholes that Currently Exist
As with any innovation, loopholes are going to exist until the idea becomes more mainstream. With tiny homes, the grey area around zoning and regulations means that you can find several ways to live in your tiny home, even in areas without specific zoning regulations directed towards tiny homes. Below are two loopholes that you might be able to make use of if you cannot find another way to live legally in the tiny home you love.
- Temporary Urbanism: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a unique term called temporary urbanism. The basic idea is that several downtrodden urban properties are abandoned and in disuse. The economic cost of tearing down or renovating these urban areas might not be economically feasible at the moment for many investors, so city officials often lease out these areas (often at no cost) to a wide range of civic organizations such as community gardens, pop-up stores, restaurants, and wheels, and farmers markets. You could potentially sub-lease a small area in an urban area for your tiny home on wheels and get a free place to stay while also participating in improving downtrodden urban areas.
- Build an ADU on Friend´s Land: Many local zoning laws allow for ADUs, or accessory dwelling units. While most of these housing structures are geared towards offering a livable area for caregivers, you might be able to register your tiny home as an ADU and live on a friend’s land legally.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
