A specific appendix for tiny houses will be part of the 2018 International Residential code. This will allow people to receive a Certificate of Occupancy for their tiny house to meet provisions of the adopted code appendix.
A two-thirds majority vote was needed on public comment RB168-16 passing the final round of voting, according to the International Code Council. There has been a lack of recognition of tiny houses in the IRC, causing a major hindrance in the creation of legal tiny houses in many U.S. communities.
The tiny house movement has gained popularity over the past few years, starting as a grassroots movement towards minimalism and reacting to high housing costs and stagnant wages. The tiny house specific code will help those interested in building a tiny home and building officials who are overrun with applications for tiny house projects. Even though the code is considered historic, each jurisdiction currently enforcing the IRC will now have to adopt the appendix for it to become law. This is the next effort Andrew Morrison and team, the group who pushed for the appendix, will be working on.
“RB168-16 brings much needed safety standards to tiny house construction,” says BA Norrgard, Volunteer Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity and founding member of the Tiny House Collaborative. “This is a huge breakthrough that holds incredible potential for positive change in the housing sector, which is in crisis.”
Morrison, a builder for over 20 years who leads tiny house workshops and has taught over 2,500 students to date says: “We have a great group of enthusiastic people in the tiny house community and we will work together to continue the positive movement forward for the industry.”
0 Comments