Zoning is a massive challenge to wannabe tiny house residents. It is often the barrier that prevents people from living tiny at all.
It is also a barrier that you can overcome.
A brief history of zoning
While many have come to hate zoning, its origin came about for good reason, and it still plays an important–albeit dysfunctional–role today.
At its most basic and conceptual level, zoning is the collective decision of a city or municipality (county, village, etc) to control how land and property are used.
Zoning rules in major American cities started to pop up in the early 1900s, as cities began to seek out ways to prevent massive development from disrupting neighborhoods and the quality of life (and by extension, home value) of their residents.
A landmark Supreme Court case, called Euclid v Amber Realty, set precedent in the United States that towns could create and enforce zoning ordinances. This particular case was won by the village of Euclid, Ohio, granting them the right to deny Amber Realty their plan to build industrial facilities on the land that they owned in Euclid.
After this ruling, zoning took off around the country, and it is pervasive in real estate today. You can almost never simply buy land and put what you want on it, which is probably why you’re reading this article.
One clear exception is the City of Houston, which has no zoning. If you’ve ever been to Houston, you can see and feel the way that a lack of land-use rules changes the character of a city: good, bad, or ugly.
In the last century, zoning has developed into a labyrinth of rules governing land use, building style, building placement, and much more. Towns and cities often have six or more different types of land, governing what can and cannot be done on that land, accompanied by a challenging ordinance and map to figure it all out on your own. It is incredibly frustrating for those in the tiny house world, but it is what it is.
I’m not here to argue whether or not zoning is a good or bad thing, because frankly, Tiny House Practical is here to help you solve problems that are in your control. Zoning is not in your control. Understanding it and working with it is. That’s what this article is here to do.
So what is zoning again?
Zoning is the process of dividing land into zones for particular uses. Zoning laws–which is really what most people refer to as “zoning”--are the laws that regulate the use of land and the buildings on that land.
Basically, zoning divides land into parcels, and then assigns those parcels a category like “single-family residential” or “industrial” and then the zoning ordinance governs how a land with that tag can be used.
Who determines zoning?
Depending on what country you live in, zoning is quite different. In countries like Germany and France, it is mostly or entirely controlled on a national level, and thus is pretty uniform. In the United States, Australia, and Canada, zoning is very decentralized, happening at the city, town, or county level. This means that in the state of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia determines how it is zoned, the Borough of State College determines how it is zoned, and Lycoming County determines how it is zoned. There even may be subdivisions of zones within a single county, where certain townships in a county have zoning but outside of those townships zoning applies at the county level.
This gets complicated quickly. You need to figure out where you want to live and then do your research on the zoning for that area.
Who enforces zoning?
The enforcement of zoning is quite often first started at the resident level. A neighbor complains to the zoning board about something not meeting zoning laws, and then the zoning officer or inspector might come out to the land and check it out for themselves.
After that, the zoning officer might determine that land or buildings are in violation of the zoning law.
One of two things happen next:
The zoning board allows the resident to apply for a special use permit, effectively making their existing living situation legal
The zoning board requires that the property changes to conform to the existing zoning law it violates, and may fine the resident several hundred dollars.
There are two key takeaways here. Firstly, be a good neighbor. Secondly, know that going around zoning regulations exposes you to legitimate risk.
What is the difference between building codes and zoning?
In the realm of zoning and tiny house legalities, you need to understand these two key concepts.
Zoning dictates what you can do with land and is typically governed by the local zoning department.
Building codes dictate how you must build your house and is typically governed by the local planning or building department. It is in place to make sure dwellings are safe to live in, generally speaking.
The key here is that your plan for a tiny house will involve both, and it may be intertwined. You’ll need to be in communication with the zoning department in order to understand if your tiny house can legally be on the land, but you’ll need to work with the planning department to get approval on the building itself.
Luckily, most building code itself is standardized and adheres to 2018 International Residential Code (IRC). There is even a recently added Appendix Q for tiny houses, which will helps immensely in the adoption of tiny houses among building departments.
That said, many jurisdictions still rule out the tiny house in standard use due to minimum room and house size requirements. It is not uncommon to have a house size minimum of 1000 sq ft in the US.
Always talk to your building and zoning departments before going down the tiny house path.
How do zoning and code apply specifically to tiny houses?
The best answer, unfortunately, is that it depends on your specific location. You are going to need to do your work upfront with the zoning department. This is the unfortunate reality of it.
However, there are a few different scenarios to understand in the realm of tiny house zoning and it largely depends on the type of tiny house.
Tiny house on a foundation
THOF fit solidly into the category of a house. This can be a blessing and a curse.
The positive is that the zoning and planning departments will likely have no issues with the look of the tiny house itself (unless it is a container home or super unusual in general).
The negative is that there is little room for interpretation. Because the THOF is a house, it must conform to the rules of a house. That means minimum room requirements, emergency egress, and a slew of other codes that are quite challenging to adhere to in a tiny house. For tiny houses that are under 400 square feet and adhere to the IRC Appendix Q Tiny House code–in jurisdictions that accept this code–you may be able to have the looser codes applied.
Tiny house on wheels
THOW isn’t really a house nor is it an RV. It falls somewhere in between. For this reason, there is a grey area that is actually at your advantage.
By having a difficult to distinguish house, you and your zoning department can work together to find your tiny house a place to park. This may be as simple as the zoning department saying “yes, you can do it,” or as complex as them requiring you to apply for a special use permit and then following specific guidelines that they set forth within that permit, such as making sure that the house is not visible from the street or that the wheels must be hidden. (More on where to find land for your tiny house here)
The reason that tiny houses on wheels exist in the first place is largely due to zoning. It often has nothing to do with wanting to move it even once.
Going rogue
Not so much a type of tiny house but a mindset. It is easy to throw caution to the wind and say “well zoning is ridiculous so I’m just going to put my tiny house out of sight and be a good neighbor and I’ll be fine. Nobody will even know.”
You could get away with this. Many people do.
However, the downside includes getting caught and fined, being forced to move off the land, and living without peace of mind.
I don’t recommend this option, but you can find plenty of people out there that disagree with me. They argue that the cost and hassle of living tiny legally are too unreasonable and the risk is low.
However, I recently had a conversation with someone who has lived in her tiny house for a few years in New Hampshire. A neighbor complained. The zoning officer was called. The zoning board came after her. And she is now potentially going to have to move off of the land and pay a bunch of fines.
The part of this mindset that bugs me the most is that zoning departments are generally reasonable and helpful people. It requires picking up the phone, but it really isn’t that overwhelming.
Which leads us to the last topic…
How do I figure out zoning for my specific tiny house?
You now understand the fundamentals of zoning, so now what?
There are a basic set of steps you can take to get zoning figured out:
1) Identify your general area
You need to figure out where you want to live and where you are willing to live. For those in the US, this should be based on county, rural or otherwise, as the county is typically the governing body.
It is important to really ask yourself why you want to live tiny and understand what you’re willing to sacrifice. If you want to live in a tiny house in downtown Dallas, you’re probably going to hit a brick wall, but if you’re willing to live near Dallas then you’ll find plenty of options.
2) Lookup the zoning department websites for each of these counties
Don’t expect these websites to look good or to answer your questions elegantly. Here is an example zoning department website.
What they can do is provide up to three key things you will need in order:
A GIS map–basically a zoning map of the county
A zoning ordinance or zoning table
A phone number
3) Look at the GIS zoning map
Not all counties have this, but many do. A GIS map is an interactive map that helps you identify exactly what each parcel of land is zoned for.
Some municipalities will simply have a pdf map of their parcels, color-coded to each type of zoning classification.
Either way, acquaint yourself with this map so you start to understand the way that parcels are zoned.
4) Look at the zoning ordinance or zoning table
The GIS map and the ordinance are two halves to a whole. The map visualizes property, whereas the ordinance identifies what can be done in each type of parcel.
The ordinance/table will tell you exactly what each code means, when a special permit is required, and when a specific type of house is allowed under what circumstances.
Many ordinances now specifically call out a tiny house. When you find the table, search (Ctrl + f) the page for “tiny” and see what you find.
As you look through the ordinance, write down your questions about specific codes that you see.
5) Call the zoning department
The zoning department is your friend! Come to them with your basic questions and basic ideas, and let them tell you what you can do. The more specific the questions the better, but it is ok to simply ask “can I have a tiny house in XYZ County?”
When you talk to zoning people, now is not the time to express your frustration with the process or the website. Now is the time to be really nice and really appreciative of their help. Their job is to answer questions about zoning, so they are often happy to help and don’t have a particularly strong interest in screwing you over. However, they are just people, so they’re less likely to help you if you’re negative.
You should see this call as more about building a relationship with somebody than about having all your zoning problems solved. Turn on that charm.
When you talk to zoning, ask them the process that you need to go through. When you’re done, ask them to email you any commitments they made so that you have it in writing that the zoning department signed off on it. That way, five years from now, you can come to the zoning board saying “you told me I could have a tiny house” and you actually will have proof.
6) Repeat
Repeat steps 2 through 6 for each of the municipalities/counties/cities that you are considering.
7) Continue to work toward tiny house life
Now that you’ve done the basic hard work, you can move forward in your process. This depends on what you own already and what you have yet to buy.
Nevertheless, you will have the basic information you need. You may now need to speak to the planning department to submit your house plans, or you need to go buy land under a specific zoning code, or you need to expand your search.
Whatever comes next, you will have a solid foundation under you. This is the general process, the rest will vary by jurisdiction, so collaborate with them.
Altogether, zoning is hard. It is frustrating and outdated in its practice and its governance. It is a massive barrier, but it is manageable.
Roll up your sleeves, do a bit of online digging, and start making phone calls. You will realize after the first call that this isn’t all that scary, and there is a place for your tiny house.
With that said, if you find yourself not willing or able to do this kind of research, I am happy to be your guide and researcher.
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