Tiny home rules in Summerville, SC — 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.
South Carolina applies the statewide adopted International Residential Code, including IRC Appendix Q for tiny houses under 400 square feet, providing a uniform construction baseline that local jurisdictions must follow.
Under the South Carolina Building Codes Council (Title 6, Chapter 9), the state adopts the International Residential Code as the mandatory minimum for residential construction, including provisions covering tiny houses. IRC Appendix Q establishes alternate stairway, loft, and ceiling standards for dwellings 400 square feet or smaller. Local governments must enforce the state-adopted code and cannot weaken it, though zoning, lot size, and minimum dwelling size requirements remain local. Tiny homes on permanent foundations are treated as site-built dwellings; those on wheels are regulated as RVs or manufactured housing.
Construction without permits or failing to meet adopted IRC standards can result in stop-work orders, code enforcement fines, denial of certificate of occupancy, and required corrections at the owner's expense.
See how Summerville's tiny homes rules stack up against other locations.
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