Laurens County, SC Accessory Structures: Tiny Homes (2026)

Section 33-4 of the Laurens County Code of Ordinances, part of the Residential Subdivisions Ordinance adopted by Ordinance No. 926 on October 11, 2022, defines tiny homes as single-family units with a maximum size of 400 square feet. To count as a tiny home, the structure must be placed on a permanent foundation and must not be attached to a frame or chassis, the feature that would otherwise classify it as a manufactured or mobile home or a recreational vehicle. The definition folds tiny homes into the ordinary subdivision framework by requiring them to meet the requirements and lot size as outlined in this chapter, meaning a tiny home on a conventional single-family lot must still satisfy Table 10.A.6's minimum lot area, lot width, and setback yard standards for whichever water and sewer service type applies to that lot, the same as a full-size house.

A separate part of the county's code, Section 28-25's campground and recreational vehicle park standards, reinforces the construction bar: RVs, cabins, and tiny homes located in a Laurens County RV park or campground must be built to the residential building code or the NFPA 1192 recreational vehicle construction standard, and utility buildings built to neither standard cannot be used for occupancy. Because the county has no zoning ordinance, Chapter 38 being an unadopted placeholder, tiny homes are not sorted into separate zoning districts or given their own use permit; the subdivision chapter's lot and dimensional tables are the only sizing controls county officials apply to a tiny home in unincorporated Laurens County.