Tiny home rules in Knoxville, TN — 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.
Knoxville has no separate tiny-home ordinance. A site-built tiny home is regulated as a single-family dwelling or as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) under Article 10.3.B. Detached ADUs require a 5,000 sq ft lot, are capped at 600-1,200 sq ft, and limited to two bedrooms.
Knoxville's Zoning Code does not use 'tiny home.' A tiny house on a permanent foundation must meet single-family district standards and the adopted IRC. A small second dwelling is an ADU under Article 10.3.B: minimum lot 5,000 sq ft (10.3.B.4); one per lot (10.3.B.5); detached ADU 5 feet from an interior side line and 10 feet from a rear line, not in a front or corner side yard (10.3.B.7). Max GFA by lot size (10.3.B.8): 600 sq ft (5,000-6,999), 800 (7,000-9,999), 1,000 (10,000-19,999), 1,200 (20,000+). Section 10.3.B.9 caps the ADU at 40% of the primary dwelling and two bedrooms. One unit must be owner-occupied (10.3.B.2); one off-street space required (10.3.B.11). A tiny house on wheels is an RV.
A tiny house on wheels used as a permanent dwelling, an ADU on a lot under 5,000 sq ft, exceeding 10.3.B.8/10.3.B.9 size or bedroom caps, or violating owner-occupancy violates Article 10.3.B and can trigger stop-work orders.
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See how Knoxville's tiny homes rules stack up against other locations.
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