Tiny Homes by State: Laws, Communities and Real Tours

Updated November 2, 2026. Laws change. Confirm with your city or county before you buy land or a home.

Where can you live in a tiny home? It depends on the state first, then on the county or city. Our state guides answer the state part in plain words. Each one covers what the state calls a tiny home, the rules for homes on a foundation and on wheels, what is changing, where the communities are and which homes we have filmed there.

State guides

Alabama. Alabama is moving to a statewide home building code for licensed builders from January 1, 2027, and the tiny house appendix applies only where a city or county adopts it.

Alaska. Alaska's state building code does not cover homes with one to three units, so whether anyone reviews your plans depends on where you build and how you pay for it.

Arizona. Arizona has no statewide building code for site-built houses, so your city or county sets the rules, and Phoenix, Tucson and Pima County have adopted the national tiny house appendix.

Arkansas. Arkansas has one residential code for the whole state, based on the 2021 International Residential Code, and cities may add stricter rules.

California. On a permanent foundation a tiny home is a house under the state residential code, which includes a tiny house appendix.

Colorado. On a permanent foundation it is a house under the local building code, since Colorado has no statewide building code for houses.

Connecticut. The state building code adopts the tiny house appendix by name, and state law bars zoning from setting a minimum floor area larger than the codes require.

Delaware. State law lets each county adopt its own building code, and we found no statewide building code for houses, so the building code comes from your county or town, while the state sets the energy code for new homes.

Florida. On a permanent foundation it is built to the Florida Building Code like any other house, and the tiny house appendix applies only where a city or county adopts it.

Georgia. On a permanent foundation it is a house under the state's mandatory building code, which since January 1, 2026 is the 2024 International Residential Code with Georgia Amendments.

Hawaii. The state's residential code includes the tiny house appendix for homes of 500 square feet or less, while we found no state law that makes a tiny home on wheels a legal full-time home.

Idaho. Idaho uses the 2018 International Residential Code, and whether its tiny house appendix applies to your home depends on your building department.

Illinois. Illinois has no single residential code for every town, but since January 1, 2025, every city and county building code must meet a structural floor based on the International Residential Code.

Indiana. Indiana adopted the tiny house appendix statewide, so a house of 400 square feet or less gets its own ceiling, loft and ladder rules anywhere in the state.

Iowa. Which building code applies depends on where you build, because the state code covers only some places.

Kansas. Kansas has no statewide building code for homes, so each city or county picks its own code, and Lawrence is one city that adopted the code's tiny house appendix.

Kentucky. Kentucky's residential code has its own tiny house section for homes of 400 square feet or less on a permanent foundation.

Louisiana. Louisiana's statewide building code includes the tiny house appendix for homes of 400 square feet or less, not counting lofts, and every parish and city must enforce that code.

Maine. On wheels, Maine law has its own category, a titled "tiny home" of 400 square feet or less, and towns must allow one on a house lot where single-family homes are allowed.

Maryland. Maryland's statewide building code includes the tiny house appendix for homes of 400 square feet or less, though a county or city can amend it.

Massachusetts. State law bars zoning from setting a minimum interior size for a single family house, and the state building code includes the tiny house appendix for homes of 400 square feet or less.

Michigan. On a permanent foundation it is a house under the Michigan Residential Code, and the 2015 edition still in force has no tiny house appendix.

Minnesota. Minnesota's residential code includes the tiny house appendix for homes of 400 square feet or less, and every local government that has adopted the state building code has to apply it.

Mississippi. A tiny home on a foundation is a house under whatever building code your county or city uses, while a tiny home on wheels has no category of its own in state law.

Missouri. Missouri has no statewide building code for private homes, so your city or county code and zoning decide.

Montana. Montana's state building code does not apply to homes with fewer than five units unless your county, city or town adopts it, so whether anyone reviews your plans depends on where you build.

Nebraska. The state building code is the 2018 International Residential Code, and it applies where a city, village or county adopts it, or where one has not adopted its own code in time.

Nevada. State law requires the counties and cities with the most people to make room for tiny houses, as backyard homes, as single-family homes and in tiny house parks.

New Hampshire. On wheels, a state law that took effect September 13, 2026 defines a tiny house on wheels and says towns "may" allow one on a house lot or as an accessory dwelling unit.

New Jersey. On a foundation it is a house under the state building code, which moved to the 2024 codes on August 17, 2026 and keeps the tiny house appendix under a new letter.

New Mexico. The state's residential code includes a tiny house appendix for homes of 400 square feet or less, and a tiny house on a chassis with a permanent axle is a recreational vehicle as long as the axle stays on.

New York. Outside New York City, the state building code includes a tiny house appendix, so a house of 400 square feet or less gets its own ceiling, loft and ladder rules.

North Carolina. On a permanent foundation built to the state code, a tiny home can be a legal house anywhere a regular house is allowed. On wheels it counts as an RV or park model, so local zoning and the park decide where you can live in it.

North Dakota. Whether anyone enforces a building code depends on where you build, because the state code is enforced only by the cities, counties and townships that choose to.

Ohio. On a permanent foundation it is a house under the Residential Code of Ohio, which does not include the tiny house appendix yet.

Oklahoma. Oklahoma moved to the 2024 International Residential Code on September 14, 2026 without the tiny house appendix, so its ceiling and loft rules apply only where a local government adopts them.

Oregon. It follows the same statewide house code as any other home, and the state does not allow cities and counties to adopt the tiny house appendix.

Pennsylvania. Since January 1, 2026, the statewide code has been based on the 2021 International Residential Code without the optional tiny house appendix, so a small house is built to the same rules as any other house unless your municipality says otherwise.

Rhode Island. The state building code applies in every city and town, and its current version for one and two family homes includes the tiny house appendix, written for homes of 400 square feet or less.

South Carolina. South Carolina has one building code for the whole state, enforced by every county and city, and the state code includes the national tiny house appendix.

South Dakota. South Dakota has no statewide building code for houses; a city may adopt the 2024 International Residential Code, the edition state law has named since July 1, 2026, and may not add rules stricter than it.

Tennessee. On a permanent foundation it is a house under the state residential code or your local code, and the state code includes the national tiny house appendix.

Texas. Inside a city, its zoning and building code apply, and outside city limits there is usually no zoning and most land has no building code.

Utah. Utah has one building code for the whole state, and state law adopts the national tiny house appendix as part of it.

Vermont. Vermont has no state building code for a single-family home its owner lives in, but the state energy code covers new homes, with some exemptions.

Virginia. On a permanent foundation it is a house under the Uniform Statewide Building Code, which lets a home of 400 square feet or less use the tiny house appendix anywhere in the state.

Washington. On a permanent foundation it can be a legal house if it meets the state residential code, which includes a tiny house appendix statewide for homes of 400 square feet or less.

West Virginia. The State Building Code applies only where a county or town adopts it, and about three quarters of the state's local governments have no zoning.

Wisconsin. On a permanent foundation it is a house under the Uniform Dwelling Code, one statewide code for one- and two-family homes.

Wyoming. Wyoming has no statewide building code for houses, so which code applies depends on where you build, and Laramie and Teton counties both use the 2024 residential code with its tiny house appendix.

What every guide covers

The short answer, in a few sentences at the top.
Quick facts on foundations, wheels, the building code, lofts, ADUs and septic.
The rules in plain words, with the law or code section each one comes from.
Where to start, step by step, before you buy land or a home.
Living in the state, with cost of living, taxes, insurance, weather and the outdoors.
Tiny home communities that share their details publicly.
The tours we have filmed in that state.
Common questions, answered from the state's own rules.

How we keep them current

Every guide shows the date it was last updated. Each month we check the laws that change people's decisions on the state's own official sites. That covers building codes, rules for homes on wheels, ADUs, size and parking rules, manufactured and modular homes, and septic. When a law changes, the guide changes and the date moves.

Tours by state

Looking for homes rather than rules? Tiny Home Tours by State lists the tours we have filmed, state by state.

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