Pleasanton, CA Accessory Structures: Tiny Homes (2026)

Pleasanton does not have a stand-alone tiny-home ordinance, so a movable tiny home is regulated by its physical form. The Municipal Code defines a recreational vehicle as a vehicle built on a single chassis, 400 sq ft or less, designed to be self-propelled or towable, and intended not as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreation, camping, travel, or seasonal use. Most tiny homes on wheels fall within this definition. Under Chapter 18.84, no trailer (including a mobilehome) may be occupied or used for living or sleeping purposes unless it is located in a licensed trailer park, with a narrow exception allowing a trailer as a construction-project office. Trailers, campers, and boats may not be parked or stored in a front yard or in a corner lot's street-side yard, and must be screened from street view elsewhere. Chapter 13.08 separately bars staying, remaining, or sleeping in a motor home or other vehicle in a park or its parking lot except during daylight. The practical effect is that a tiny home cannot be used as a permanent residence on a private lot in Pleasanton unless it is built to building-code standards on a foundation and approved as a dwelling or ADU. An ADU under PMC 18.106 is the most common legal path: a permanent detached unit up to 1,000 sq ft and 16 feet tall with 4-foot setbacks. California ADU law (Gov. Code 66310+) supports this route, but it does not legalize movable tiny homes as full-time housing.