Tiny home rules in St. Joseph County, IN — 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.
A tiny house on a permanent foundation is legal in St. Joseph County when built to the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, Appendix Q, for dwellings 400 square feet or less. A tiny house on wheels is a recreational vehicle and cannot be used as a dwelling under Zoning Section 154.079.
The 2020 Indiana Residential Code adopts Appendix Q, which applies to tiny houses used as single dwelling units 400 square feet or less excluding lofts and eases stair, headroom, loft, and escape-opening rules. Built on a foundation and permitted through the St. Joseph County Building Department, such a home is a real dwelling; off public sewer it needs a septic permit under 410 IAC 6-8.3. A tiny house on wheels is treated as a recreational vehicle, and Zoning Section 154.079 bars an RV from being used as a dwelling unit and bars mobile homes from being occupied except as an approved temporary use.
Placing a foundation tiny house without a building permit is illegal construction. Living in a tiny house on wheels or an RV violates Zoning Section 154.079, which allows no dwelling use.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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