Tiny home rules in Dorchester County, SC — 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.
A tiny house is a legal dwelling in Dorchester County only if built to the 2021 SC Residential Code, which adopts Appendix AQ for homes 400 square feet or less. A tiny house on wheels is treated as an RV, not a permanent home.
South Carolina's 2021 Residential Code includes Appendix AQ, which applies to tiny houses used as single dwelling units and defines a tiny house as 400 square feet or less excluding lofts, easing some stair, loft, and escape rules. Dorchester County permits a tiny house built to this code on a foundation, with zoning review and, off public sewer, a SCDES Regulation 61-56 septic permit. A tiny house on wheels is a recreational vehicle and cannot be permitted as a permanent dwelling; the county issues no certificate of occupancy for it, and flood-zone lots add elevation requirements.
Placing a tiny house without a building permit is illegal construction. Living permanently in a tiny house on wheels or an RV is prohibited; the county grants no occupancy for it.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Dorchester County's tiny homes rules stack up against other locations.
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