Tiny home rules in Madison, AL — 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.
Madison's Zoning Ordinance has no tiny-home-specific category. A small permanent dwelling must meet the standards of its zoning district, and a backyard tiny unit is only allowed as an accessory dwelling unit tied to a garage.
Madison's Zoning Ordinance does not define or separately permit "tiny homes." A small permanent house on its own lot is simply a single-family dwelling and must satisfy the dimensional and building-code requirements of the underlying zoning district. A tiny backyard unit is only permitted as an accessory dwelling unit under Section 6-5-1.B, which requires a detached ADU to be part of an accessory garage, capped at 1,000 square feet, with one kitchen and no separate sale. Movable tiny homes on wheels are treated like recreational vehicles or manufactured units and are not allowed as permanent residences outside a licensed manufactured home park. Confirm any specific proposal with Planning at 256-772-5630.
Occupying an RV, trailer, or unpermitted tiny structure as a permanent dwelling can result in zoning-enforcement action and orders to vacate or remove.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Madison, AL
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