Franklin, TN Accessory Structures: Tiny Homes (2026)

Franklin enforces the Tennessee Residential Code (2018 IRC as adopted under T.C.A. § 68-120-101 with state amendments), administered through Building & Neighborhood Services. A site-built or HUD-certified tiny home on a permanent foundation in a residential zone is either: (1) the principal single-family dwelling, in which case it must meet the dimensional standards for the zone — R1 requires a 30,000 sq ft lot, 60/25/50 ft setbacks; R2 requires 15,000 sq ft, 20/10/40 ft setbacks; R3 requires 9,000 sq ft, 20/10/30 ft setbacks; R4 requires 75% of average lot size (min 6,500 sq ft), avg front (min 10 ft), 7 ft side, 20 ft rear; R6 requires 4,000 sq ft and 40 ft width; ER requires very large estate lots with 150/35/65 ft setbacks; or (2) an Accessory Dwelling under § 5.2.7, which is capped at 50 percent of the principal dwelling's footprint with owner occupancy required of one of the two units. Tiny homes on wheels (THOWs) registered as travel trailers, park-model RVs, or RVs with TN DMV are not site-built homes meeting the Tennessee Residential Code and therefore cannot serve as a principal dwelling or accessory dwelling in residential districts. Franklin Zoning Ordinance § 5.2.3 requires accessory structures to be subordinate in area and size to the principal building, and § 5.2 requires they be on the same lot — a recreational vehicle parked as a residence does not satisfy either the building code or these zoning standards. Manufactured (HUD-Code) homes are permitted only in zoning districts where expressly allowed and must be installed on a permanent foundation per the Tennessee Manufactured Home Installation Act (T.C.A. § 68-126-401 et seq.).