Bernalillo County, NM Accessory Structures: Tiny Homes (2026)
Tiny home rules in Bernalillo County, NM, 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.
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Bernalillo County Natural Resource Services
- Toilet certification
- Must be NSF-certified; self-built systems banned
- Min. lot for treatment swap
- Three-fourths acre
- Permit type
- Holding tank permit, 365-day term
- Max penalty
- $300 fine, 90 days jail
Summary
Unincorporated Bernalillo County allows composting or incinerating toilets on tiny-home parcels only if the lot is large enough to keep required setbacks and hold space for a future septic system.
Composting/incinerating toilets shall not be used ... for an advanced wastewater treatment on a lot less than three-fourths acre in size. ... Composting/incinerating toilets may be appropriate for situations: ... b. In association with parcels and applicants utilizing a "tiny home" concept, but with adequate lot size to preserve setbacks and to address neighboring property concerns regarding compost disposal and that allow for future conventional or advanced wastewater treatment options.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 92).
Full Breakdown
The county's environmental health code (Ch. 42, Art. IV) treats a tiny home like any other dwelling for wastewater purposes: a composting or incinerating toilet must be NSF-certified, permitted as a holding tank under Sec. 42-505, and cannot substitute for a full septic system on a lot under three-fourths acre. For tiny-home projects specifically, Sec. 42-505(f)(8)b requires the lot be large enough to preserve setbacks and reserve room for a conventional or advanced system later. This applies only in unincorporated Bernalillo County -- Albuquerque, which has its own Integrated Development Ordinance, is not covered.
Violations & Fines
Operating an unpermitted composting or incinerating toilet, or one that isn't NSF-certified, is a petty misdemeanor: up to a $300 fine, 90 days in jail, or both, with each day a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a tiny home on any lot in unincorporated Bernalillo County?
Does this rule apply inside Albuquerque?
Does a composting toilet let me avoid installing a septic system?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bernalillo County
Compare Bernalillo County to another location·View the New Mexico accessory structures overview
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