Louisville, KY Accessory Structures: Tiny Homes (2026)
Tiny home rules in Louisville, KY, 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.
Key Facts
- Tiny home size cap
- Under 400 square feet
- Principal-dwelling tiny homes
- Regulated as Factory Built Homes
- Foundation standard
- Permanent foundation per KRS Ch. 227
- Backyard ADU alternative
- Max 800 sq ft, one per lot
- Older/park-sited exemption
- Pre-2002 or mobile-home-park units exempt
Summary
Louisville Metro's Land Development Code caps a tiny home at 400 square feet and regulates it as a Factory Built Home when used as a principal residence, requiring a permanent foundation and set design standards.
A factory built home may be placed on a lot zoned for residential use, in accordance with applicable zoning and form district requirements and provided that the standards of this section are met. ... The structure shall be attached to a permanent foundation system and shall be installed and inspected in accordance with the state standards set forth in KRS Chapter 227. Masonry skirting or a perimeter wall shall be constructed from the ground to the bottom of the exterior wall at each side of the home.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-47: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ordinances passed by the Council and approved by the Mayor as of July 1, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Metro's definition of 'Tiny Home', a single-family unit under 400 square feet, folds the structure into the Factory Built Home category once it's a principal dwelling assembled off-site, per Land Development Code Sec. 4.1.2. That triggers a permanent foundation inspected to KRS Chapter 227 standards, masonry skirting or a perimeter wall, siding matching site-built homes, approved roofing, and a street-facing entrance with a roofed porch at least 4 feet wide. Units built before July 15, 2002, or placed in a licensed mobile home park, are exempt. Used instead as a backyard accessory dwelling unit, a tiny home falls under Louisville's separate ADU rules (Sec. 4.3.27): one per lot, capped at 800 square feet, in specific residential zoning districts.
Violations & Fines
A tiny home used as a principal residence that skips the foundation, skirting, siding or design standards fails Land Development Code review; DPDS can deny the building permit or order compliance through code enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a tiny home in my Louisville Metro backyard?
Does a Louisville tiny home need a permanent foundation?
Are small pre-2002 mobile homes treated the same as tiny homes?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Louisville
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