Sea oats and white sand on the Gulf Coast beach in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Tiny Homes in Mississippi: Laws, Rules and Communities

Updated November 4, 2026. Some laws may have changed since then. Confirm with your county before you buy land or a home.

The short answer

Yes, you can live in a tiny home full time in Mississippi where your city or county allows it, and state law requires counties and cities to require a building permit for construction. 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, so local zoning decides where you can live in one. The newest change is for modular homes, which since July 1, 2025 must be certified to the latest residential code adopted by the state's building codes council. Mississippi has the 6th lowest cost of living of the 50 states, a flat 4.00 percent income tax on income above $10,000, an effective property tax rate of 0.58 percent (15th lowest), and homeowners insurance averaging $4,445 a year. We do not have a Mississippi tour to list here yet.

On this page. Quick facts, the rules in plain words, where to start, living in Mississippi, communities and common questions.

In Mississippi, building codes are mostly a local matter. A 2014 state law told every county and city to adopt the international building codes, but it also gave each one 120 days to opt out, so the code that applies to your land depends on where it is. A tiny home on a permanent foundation, meaning it is anchored to a base built into the ground, like a concrete slab or a crawl space, is treated as a house. A tiny home on wheels, built on a trailer so it can be towed, is a different case, and how state law labels one is not settled.

This guide covers the 2014 code law and the opt-outs, building permits, the coast's wind and flood rules, the tiny house appendix, homes on wheels, manufactured and modular homes, ADUs, septic and wells, and the one community we could confirm.

Quick facts

On a foundation (anchored to a base in the ground): a house under your county or city's building code, if it has one.
Building code in force: set locally. State law requires one of the last three editions of the international codes unless the county or city opted out in 2014.
Building permits: state law requires counties and cities to require a permit for construction, whether or not they have adopted a building code.
Tiny house rules: no statewide adoption of the code's tiny house appendix. Rankin County adopted it in 2021.
On wheels (built on a trailer): no category of its own in state law. Local zoning decides where you can live in one.
ADUs (a second, smaller home on the same lot as a house): no state law. Cities and counties set their own rules.
Septic (an underground system that treats wastewater where there is no city sewer): a soil and site evaluation through the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Can you live in a tiny home full time in Mississippi?

Yes, where your city or county allows it. On wheels, it depends on local zoning.

On a foundation, a tiny home is a house. It needs a building permit, and it must meet your local building code where one is in force.
On wheels, we found no state law that allows or bans living full time in one. Local zoning decides.
We found no statewide minimum house size. Ask your city or county whether it sets one.

The rules in plain words

Building code

Mississippi has no single building code that applies everywhere in the state. A 2014 law, Senate Bill 2378, now Section 17-2-4 of the Mississippi Code, says each county board of supervisors and each city governing authority shall adopt as minimum codes one of the last three editions of the International Building Code and the International Residential Code, along with any appendices the Mississippi Building Codes Council adopts and amends. It leaves out the residential code's sprinkler requirements for one and two family homes.

The same section let each county or city choose not to be subject to it, by a resolution entered in its minutes within 120 days after the law took effect. The Attorney General's office, in a January 2024 opinion, read that window as running from August 1, 2014, and said that for a city that did not opt out then, state law does not provide for exemptions from those minimum codes. The State Fire Marshal's Office, part of the Mississippi Insurance Department, says counties and cities had to opt out before November 30, 2014.

So whether a residential code applies to your land, and which edition, is not settled statewide, and we found no state list of the counties and cities that opted out. Rankin County, for example, adopted the 2018 International Residential Code in 2021. Ask your city or county building office, in writing, whether it enforces a residential code and which edition, before you buy plans.

The state's building codes council adopts its own set of codes, which state law calls discretionary statewide minimum codes, and counties and cities may adopt them. The council's choices also matter for modular homes (see below).

Some buildings are outside these local codes by state law, including HUD-code manufactured homes, farm structures other than a home when the owner files an affidavit, and private recreational structures such as hunting or fishing camps in unincorporated areas whose owners file a sworn affidavit with the county. The camp exemption is written for recreational structures, so do not count on it for a home you plan to live in full time.

Building permits

State law requires every county to require a permit for construction in its unincorporated areas, and every city to require one within its jurisdiction, whether or not it has adopted a building code. House Bill 1163 added this rule, effective July 1, 2022. A 2024 bill that would have let counties and cities opt out of the permit requirement, House Bill 331, died in conference. The permit sections list no exemptions, though state law keeps some buildings, such as farm structures, outside the building codes, so ask your county what it requires for your project.

The coast's wind and flood rules

Section 17-2-1 requires Jackson, Harrison, Hancock, Stone and Pearl River counties, and the cities in them, to enforce the wind and flood mitigation requirements of the 2003 International Residential Code and International Building Code until each adopts the latest editions of those codes, which the same section tells them to adopt. The 2006 law also gave each county and city 60 days to opt out. If you plan to build near the coast, ask which wind and flood rules your county or city enforces, and check the flood map.

The tiny house appendix

The national residential code has an appendix with rules for tiny houses, such as lower ceilings and lofts reached by ladders. In the 2018 edition it is Appendix Q, and in the 2024 edition it is Appendix BB. Mississippi has not adopted it statewide. It applies where a county or city adopts it. Rankin County's building code ordinance, adopted August 16, 2021, adopts the 2018 International Residential Code with Appendix Q among its appendices. It is the only building code ordinance listed in the county's online document portal as of November 1, 2026, so ask the county whether it is still the code in force.

Without the appendix, a tiny house on a foundation has to meet the code's regular rules for ceiling heights, stairs and lofts. Ask your building office whether it has adopted the tiny house appendix before you buy plans. If you would rather skip the loft question, see tiny home layouts without a loft.

Tiny homes on wheels

Mississippi law has no category of its own for a tiny home on wheels, and how one is labeled is not settled. Three things point different ways.

The state's factory built home law defines a manufactured home as one built to the federal HUD code after June 14, 1976, and a mobile home as one built before June 15, 1976. A tiny home on wheels built since then and not to the HUD code fits neither.
The motor vehicle title law defines a trailer as a vehicle drawn by another vehicle for hauling goods or products, and says the term does not include a structure of any size, set up on site, built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling. That wording could reach a tiny home on wheels.
The Mississippi Department of Revenue says trailers over 5,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and manufactured homes must be titled. Its titles page does not mention tiny homes, campers or travel trailers.

We found no state agency guidance that says which label a tiny home on wheels falls under. The label can decide how it is titled and where zoning lets you live in it, so ask the Department of Revenue how it will be titled and get your city or county's answer on zoning in writing before you buy or build.

We found no state law that allows or bans living full time in an RV or a tiny home on wheels. That is a local zoning question.

Modular and manufactured homes

The State Fire Marshal's Office, part of the Mississippi Insurance Department, oversees factory built homes. It licenses manufacturers, dealers and installers or transporters, and it inspects how a home was set up, including anchoring and blocking, after a complaint. State law says local building codes adopted under the 2014 law do not apply to HUD-code manufactured homes. We found no state law that limits local bans on manufactured homes, so ask your county or city where one is allowed.

A modular home is built in sections in a factory and set at the site. House Bill 999, effective July 1, 2025, changed the state definition so a modular home must be certified to the most current residential code adopted by the Mississippi Building Codes Council, and, when it is designed to be permanently installed, set on an approved foundation built to the maker's installation guidelines. The State Fire Marshal's modular rule, revised July 1, 2026, lists the 2024 international codes, including the 2024 International Residential Code. The rule also says local governments may require, and charge a fee for, a building permit before a modular home is installed.

ADU rules

Mississippi has no state law on ADUs. Cities and counties set their own rules, and we have not yet checked a city's ADU rules in its own code for this guide. Ask your planning office whether a second home is allowed on your lot, the size limit and the parking rule. Deed restrictions and HOA covenants can set their own limits, so check those too.

Other recent laws

House Bill 999 (2025), signed March 12, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, changed the modular home definition as described above.
House Bill 331 (2024), which would have let counties and cities opt out of requiring building permits, died in conference on April 29, 2024.
We found no state law since 2023 on tiny homes, ADUs or living in an RV. The 2026 regular session and the July 2026 special session passed no act that changes the building code, permit, factory built home or title sections this page relies on.

Septic

The Mississippi State Department of Health runs the on-site wastewater program under the state's Individual On-site Wastewater Disposal System Law. If the home will not be on a sewer, you apply to the department, online or on paper, and pay the fee. Its environmentalists do a soil and site evaluation that gives the owner a permit or recommendation, which the department says is required to get a water meter. A certified professional evaluator can design a system instead, and the department's engineers review that design. The department keeps a list of certified installers, and some registered products must be installed by someone certified by the product's maker.

If you plan to use a composting toilet, ask the Department of Health first how it affects your septic permit, since the home will still produce sink and shower water.

Wells

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality licenses water well drillers and pump installers, and says a driller licensed in Mississippi must be used to drill a water well. Drillers file a log for every well. A groundwater withdrawal permit is needed for wells with surface casing 6 inches or wider, with some exclusions, so ask your driller whether yours needs one. The Department of Health tests water from private wells.

Where to start

Not sure which office covers your land? USA.gov's local government finder points to a directory of Mississippi's counties and cities, with their websites and contacts.
Call the city planning or building department, or the county if the land is outside city limits. Ask whether it enforces a residential building code and which edition, whether it has adopted the tiny house appendix, whether there is a minimum house size, and whether a tiny home on wheels can be lived in there. Get the answers in writing.
Apply for the building permit your county or city requires before you build.
If the land is not on sewer, apply to the Mississippi State Department of Health for a soil and site evaluation before you buy.
For a well, hire a driller licensed in Mississippi.
For a manufactured or modular home, use a dealer and installer licensed by the State Fire Marshal's Office. For a tiny home on wheels, ask the Department of Revenue how it will be titled.
Before buying land, check the flood map, any deed restrictions and any HOA covenants. Near the coast, ask which wind and flood rules apply.

Living in Mississippi

How Mississippi compares with the other 49 states on the things people weigh before a move. Figures as of November 2026.

Happiness score (WalletHub 2026). 46.81 out of 100, 37th happiest
Cost of living (MERIC, Q2 2026; U.S. average is 100). 87.4, 6th lowest
State income tax. Flat 4.00 percent on income above $10,000 (2026)
Property tax, effective rate on owner-occupied homes (Tax Foundation, 2024 data). 0.58 percent, 15th lowest
Homeowners insurance, average a year with $400,000 in dwelling coverage (NerdWallet 2026; U.S. average $2,490). $4,445
Health care (U.S. News). 50th
Education (U.S. News). 28th
Average temperature, 1991 to 2020. 64.2 degrees F
Average precipitation, 1991 to 2020. 58.5 inches a year
Sunshine in Jackson. 61 percent of daylight hours, 111 clear days a year
People 65 and older (2024). 18.0 percent

Mississippi had the sixth lowest cost of living index of the 50 states in the second quarter of 2026, and housing is the lowest part of that index. The state income tax is a flat 4.00 percent on income above $10,000, and the effective property tax rate is 0.58 percent. Homeowners insurance averages $4,445 a year with $400,000 in dwelling coverage, compared with a U.S. average of $2,490. U.S. News ranks Mississippi 28th in education and 50th in health care, and WalletHub ranks it 37th happiest.

Rankings mix many factors, and statewide averages hide differences between regions, so look at the area where you plan to live.

Tiny home communities in Mississippi

We could confirm only one Mississippi community for tiny homes on its own website. Rules, prices and openings change, so contact each one directly before you plan around it.

Tiny Apartment Rental, Picayune. A rental company whose website lists tiny homes for rent, along with apartments, duplexes and cabins, with all-inclusive pricing. It does not publish prices or say whether you can bring your own tiny home.

Ask about availability, lease terms and current prices.

Tours we have filmed in Mississippi

We do not have a Mississippi tour to list here yet. When we do, it will be listed here. Our tours from other states are at Tiny Home Tours by State.

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Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to live in a tiny house in Mississippi?

Yes, where your city or county allows it. A tiny home on a foundation is a house, it needs a building permit, and it must meet your local building code where one is in force. For a tiny home on wheels, local zoning decides.

Does Mississippi have a statewide building code?

Not one that applies everywhere. A 2014 law requires counties and cities to adopt one of the last three editions of the international building and residential codes, but each could opt out within 120 days, so the code depends on where your land is. State law does require counties and cities to require a building permit for construction.

Does Mississippi use Appendix Q for tiny houses?

Not statewide. The tiny house appendix, Appendix Q in the 2018 code and Appendix BB in the 2024 code, applies where a county or city adopts it. Rankin County adopted the 2018 residential code with Appendix Q in 2021, so ask your building office whether yours has adopted it.

Can I live in a tiny home on wheels in Mississippi?

It depends on your city or county. We found no state law that allows or bans living full time in one, and state law has no category of its own for it. Ask the Department of Revenue how it will be titled, and get your county's answer on zoning in writing before you buy.

Do I need a septic permit for a tiny home in Mississippi?

If the home will not be on a sewer, yes. You apply to the Mississippi State Department of Health for a soil and site evaluation, which gives a permit or recommendation that the department says is required to get a water meter. A certified professional evaluator can design a system instead, and the department's engineers review that design.

Sources

This page explains the rules in general terms and is not legal advice. Local rules vary. Confirm with your county before you buy land or a home.

Hero photo: Biloxi, by Thomas Konings on Unsplash.