Tiny house parking.
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Yes, you want to enjoy the tiny house lifestyle, but holy moly.
Where can you legally park a tiny house?
Let’s get into it.
Let’s start by understanding the problem: Tiny homes are relatively new structures.
This means the world is still trying to understand what tiny houses are, how we design tiny houses, who governs tiny houses, the best practices surrounding tiny houses, and yes, where we can legally park tiny homes.
Simply put, before we make up rules about things, the thing must be invented, and once invented, there will be an initial stage of chaos before we all get on the same page.
At Mint Tiny House Company, we’re proud to be part of the pioneering movement bringing this new type of affordable housing to the table.
But anything worth doing comes with challenges to overcome, and one of the challenges with tiny homes has been figuring out how to legally park a tiny house!
(Keep reading, good news about tiny house parking lies ahead!)
To dive deeper into tiny house parking requires that we understand a bit about zoning.
Most land where you’ll find people living is zoned.
Zoning tells us what kinds of structures can be put on a piece of land, and how that land can be
used.
Thus, zoning ensures we don’t do things like build factories with chemical off-gassing next to preschools. So, zoning is a good thing, but it can present a problem if you want to legally park a tiny home on wheels in your backyard.
Remember how we said that tiny homes are relatively new structures? Well, they are. And this means that zoning ordinances in many areas haven’t been updated yet to account for them.
Ok, but surely you can park a tiny house somewhere, right?
Yes. (See? We told you we would reinstate hope!)
So what type of zoning allows tiny homes?
The good news is that some land is zoned, but not all land. There is some unzoned land, and while you’d want to do more digging, you could potentially park a tiny house legally on unzoned land.
Unzoned land tends to be pretty rural, though, so if that’s not your ideal parking place, you might want to look for land zoned for an RV park.
Yes! Many tiny homes are built to RV code (NFPA 1192) or park model code (ANSI A119.5).
This means on paper, most tiny homes are actually RVs or park model homes and therefore are allowed wherever those types of housing are permitted.
We say “on paper” because while tiny homes are usually built to those codes, tiny homes often far surpass the minimum requirements. RVs are built to support recreation, whereas tiny homes are built with the intention of supporting full-time living.
Your Mint tiny house will qualify for parking in an RV park from a zoning perspective, but in practice, RV park owners and managers sometimes get confused when you ask about “tiny house parking.” So if you call and ask if you can legally park a tiny house in their RV park, you may get a ‘no.’
If this happens, just call back the following day and ask if they offer long-term parking for RVs or park models. Then send them a picture of your Mint tiny house along with a copy of your certification documents proving that your home was built to the standards they allow in their park. Don’t say “tiny house.”
Do you want to park a tiny house in a tiny home community?
Tiny home communities are slowly cropping up, and if the idea of living near other tiny home dwellers appeals to you, you’ll want to research tiny home communities in your area.
Tiny home communities usually have the same zoning as RV parks, they’re just rebranded. So if you’re shopping for land to build a tiny home community, it’s the same!
To review, here are your best bets for finding legal tiny house parking near you.
Now that you know why tiny home parking can be tricky and what kind of zoning is required, it’s time to get more specific.
There are a few ways!
Tiny House Hosting is a fabulous Facebook group dedicated to solving the tiny house parking problem.
Anyone can post a spot they have available, and you can respond to any listings that seem like they might fit your needs.
The tiny house parking listings on Tiny House Hosting aren’t verified, so you’ll want to use caution, but this page can be a great resource for anyone looking to park a tiny house!
Jill Kanto is one of our tiny house heroes. Why? Because she is out there volunteering her free time and energy to solving our tiny house parking woes!
Jill is the creator of the amazing tiny house community search tool, ChooseTiny.com.
Like Tiny House Hosting, you’ll want to use caution when investigating the leads, but ChooseTiny.com is a great way to see where the best tiny home communities lie, and get information about parking a tiny home all in one place.
Be sure to bookmark this tool, because it’s literally getting stronger every day!
In a tiny house-friendly municipality, simply posting on local bulletin boards or digital community pages can be a great way to find tiny house parking.
If you ask around, you’re sure to find a landowner with RV hookups lying around who would be happy to generate income by offering you a tiny house parking spot!
You might be tempted to find the perfect tiny house parking spot before you sign a build
contract, but here is our suggestion: make sure you’re comfortable with your tiny house parking options, but wait to lock down a specific spot until your home is on its way.
You’ll want to know what you’re getting yourself into with parking a tiny home, but it’s far cheaper to put your new house in storage for a couple of months while you find the perfect spot than it is to pay for tiny house parking when you don’t have a house.
And you know who always finds tiny house parking? Someone with a tiny house on the way!
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