Tiny home rules in Waukesha County, WI — 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.
Waukesha County town zoning effectively blocks most tiny homes: any single-family dwelling must have 1,100 sq ft overall floor area (850 sq ft on the first floor), and tiny-house-on-wheels living is barred outside approved mobile-home parks. Cities and villages set their own dwelling-size rules.
Sec. 3.11(1)(A) of the County Basic Zoning Ordinance requires any building used for single-family residential purposes to provide 1,100 sq ft of overall floor area, with at least 850 sq ft on the first floor. This minimum rules out most fixed tiny homes in unincorporated towns. A tiny house on wheels is treated as a trailer/mobile home: Sec. 3.16(1) prohibits human habitation of a trailer or mobile home except in an approved mobile-home park, with only a limited six-month permit tied to active construction of a principal home. Any dwelling also needs Uniform Dwelling Code compliance and, off municipal utilities, approved well and septic. Municipal zoning governs inside cities and villages.
Occupying an undersized dwelling or a tiny house on wheels outside a mobile-home park can prompt zoning enforcement, removal orders, and daily forfeitures.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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