Wayne County, NC Accessory Structures: Tiny Homes (2026)

Chapter 38's floodplain definitions single out tiny homes for different treatment than campers or travel trailers. Section 38-5 defines a "recreational vehicle" as a unit built on a single chassis, 400 square feet or less at its largest horizontal projection, designed to be towed by a light duty truck, built for temporary or seasonal living rather than permanent occupancy, and fully licensed and ready for highway use. Because a tiny home does not meet all five of those criteria, it is not licensed for highway travel and is intended as a permanent residence, § 38-5 states directly that "tiny homes/houses" and park models are excluded from the RV definition and should meet the standards of and be permitted as residential structures.

That reclassification matters most inside a special flood hazard area: an RV placed temporarily under § 38-62(6) can sidestep elevation and floodproofing rules if it stays on site fewer than 180 days or remains licensed and ready for highway use, but a tiny home treated as a residential structure must instead meet § 38-62(1)'s full requirement that its reference level, including any basement, be elevated no lower than the regulatory flood protection elevation, the same standard applied to a site-built house. Outside the floodplain, being classified as a residential structure also pulls a tiny home into the minimum housing standards of Chapter 14, Article VI, rather than any RV-specific rule.