Charles County, MD Accessory Structures: Tiny Homes (2026)

5 in its entirety with a list of appendices the county adopts into the Charles County Building Code, and item (AO) on that list is 'Tiny Houses,' pulling the IRC's dedicated tiny-house construction standards (light-frame limits, loft egress, and stair alternatives that Appendix AO sets out) directly into local law rather than leaving them optional. The same replaced section also adopts Appendix AE, 'Manufactured Housing Used as Dwellings,' and Appendix AM, 'Home Day Care - R-3 Occupancy,' showing the county built out a specific menu of alternative dwelling and use paths rather than relying only on the base IRC.

2's list of work exempt from a permit to add: a one-story detached accessory structure whose first floor does not exceed 200 square feet, is not used for automotive storage, and does not serve as a main egress from an existing structure, needs no building permit at all. A very small tiny house used as a stand-alone accessory structure could fall under this exemption, while a larger or occupied tiny house is built to the adopted Appendix AO standards under a full building permit.