Many towns and counties are considering how to incorporate small homes into the community. These include tiny houses, both on wheels and off, Auxiliary Dwelling Units, and even RVs in some instances.
Some are even considering a new use for urban RV parks by designating permanent residence status.
A unique situation has arisen in the RV market since COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and people begin returning to the workplace instead of working remotely. Many of those workers bought RVs and Motorhomes and traveled while still being able to work remotely. That is changing as evidenced by the number of websites popping up offering to buy used RVs and motorhomes.
While that is a good move for many former work-from-home employees, others are trying to move them into RV parks and even into their backyards where they will become rentals.
While many local and county governments don’t think this will ever be a long-term solution, they think that it’s a better option than the street. But once those Residential Housing Codes are amended to include all those small alternative housing types, will it ever be reversed?
According to officials in some areas that have already made the change to allow them into R1 neighborhoods, they don’t have to meet the stringent building codes for new homes but rather meet a more lax “health and safety” inspection…whatever that is.
While tiny homes are compact structures, they can come in many forms. These homes can vary from being on wheels like RVs, converted buses, or vans to stationary homes like yurts, shipping containers, and cabins. Even older R1 neighborhoods with large homes may soon see tiny houses popping up in backyards to bring in additional income. These new small homes can also be used as Airbnb rentals, homeless housing, Section 8, and halfway houses. There doesn’t seem to be any restrictions against this within the codes many communities are adopting.
The US housing market is changing and zoning and codes are changing to meet it. Unfortunately, it may have a detrimental long-term effect on traditional single-family neighborhoods.
Gary Fleisher
Email at [email protected]
