Tiny home rules in Birmingham, AL — covering tiny houses on wheels (THOWs), park model RVs, and tiny home on foundation builds — determine where they are legal and how they get permitted.
Birmingham has no separate 'tiny home' ordinance; a detached tiny home on a residential lot is regulated as an accessory dwelling unit, capped at 800 square feet (or the size of the primary dwelling), limited to one per lot, and allowed only in specified districts.
Alabama has no statewide tiny-home or ADU statute, so the standard is set by the City of Birmingham Zoning Ordinance under the municipal zoning authority of Title 11, Code of Alabama. A permanent, foundation-based tiny home built as a secondary dwelling is treated as an Accessory Dwelling Unit. Per Chapter 3, Article I, Section 4(32), such a unit must be no more than 800 square feet (or the size of the primary dwelling, whichever is less) and must meet the Ordinance's Design Standards. Under Chapter 4, Article IV, Section 2.B, only one accessory structure per lot may be used as a dwelling, access must be from an alley or an approved driveway, and the use must be accessory to a single-family dwelling, Historic Bed and Breakfast, or Bed and Breakfast, in the D-4, D-5, UN, MU-L, MU-M, MU-H, MU-D, C-1, and C-2 districts. A movable tiny house on wheels would be treated as a recreational vehicle or manufactured unit and is not a permitted permanent dwelling on a standard lot.
An unpermitted tiny home used as a dwelling is a zoning violation enforced by the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits via a Zoning Violation Notice; unresolved cases proceed to Environmental Court with possible fines and, upon misdemeanor conviction, jail.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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