Tiny home rules in Snohomish County, WA — 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.
In unincorporated Snohomish County a recreational vehicle cannot be a primary residence. A tiny house counts as a dwelling only if built on a foundation, permitted, and connected to water and sewer; a tiny house on wheels is regulated as an RV.
SCC 30.91R.050 defines a recreational vehicle as a travel trailer, motor home, truck camper, or camping trailer permanently designed and used as temporary living quarters, transient, and not permanently affixed to a mobile-home lot. RVs may serve as temporary living quarters, but temporary parking means placement on a single site for 180 days or less in any 12-month period, and an RV cannot be a primary residence. A permanent tiny home must be sited as a dwelling or ADU on a foundation with a building permit and utility connections. Cottage-housing and ADU pathways under Title 30 are the routes to a legal permanent small home.
Living in an RV or unpermitted tiny structure as a permanent residence is a code violation; the county may order removal or connection to permitted utilities, with civil penalties.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Snohomish County's tiny homes rules stack up against other locations.
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