Tiny home rules in Nashua, NH — 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.
NH RSA 674:74 defines tiny houses as small structures intended for year-round occupancy that meet the NH State Building Code and may be on a permanent foundation or chassis. Where Nashua permits detached ADUs under RSA 674:73 (it must, as of 7/1/2025), it must permit a single tiny house as a detached ADU — but a lot may have either an ADU or a tiny house, not both. Tiny houses must include facilities for sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation and meet all single-family building, fire, safety, and utility codes. Park-model RVs and tiny houses on wheels not meeting the State Building Code are not permitted as permanent dwellings.
New Hampshire's tiny house statute is RSA 674:74 (added with the original ADU subdivision). It defines a tiny house as 'a small structure intended for year-round occupancy that meets the requirements of the state building code, and may include single-room structures, and which is built on either a permanent foundation or on a chassis that is suitable for registration for transport on public highways of the state.' All tiny houses must contain facilities for sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. All municipal and state building codes for single-family dwellings apply — including zoning setbacks, fire code (NH RSA 153, State Fire Code, NFPA 1), life-safety, emergency vehicle access, and water/sewer/electrical utilities. RSA 674:74 expressly ties tiny houses to the ADU framework: if a municipality permits detached accessory dwelling units pursuant to RSA 674:73 (Nashua must, as of July 1, 2025, under HB 577), it shall permit a tiny house as a detached accessory dwelling unit. A property may include either an accessory dwelling unit or a tiny house, but not both — the operator chooses one path. The NH State Building Code adopts IRC Appendix Q (Tiny Houses) which sets ceiling height minimums (6 ft 8 in habitable spaces; 6 ft 4 in bathrooms, toilet rooms, and kitchens), loft access standards (ladder or alternating tread device), and 7 sq ft minimum loft area. Park-model RVs (RVIA-certified, on wheels, with HUD code or ANSI A119.5) are NOT 'tiny houses' under RSA 674:74 because they are not built to the NH State Building Code — they may not be used as permanent residences in Nashua. Tiny houses on wheels (THOW) without permanent foundation may qualify only if they meet the State Building Code requirements; in practice, most THOWs are RVIA-certified and therefore excluded. A site-built or factory-built tiny house on a permanent foundation, meeting IRC Appendix Q, is the cleanest path to a Nashua-compliant tiny home. Nashua's Land Use Code does not contain a separate tiny-house chapter; the tiny home is regulated through the ADU framework in Sec. 190-32 (now subject to state preemption) and the underlying district's dimensional standards in Sec. 190-16.
Living in a non-code-compliant tiny home or park-model RV as a permanent residence is a violation of Sec. 190-32, Sec. 190-31, and the NH State Building Code enforceable by the Nashua Administrative Officer and Department of Building Safety. Remedies include cease-and-desist orders, civil penalties under NH RSA 676:17 of up to $275 per day first offense and $550 per day subsequent, and disconnection of utilities.
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