Are "Tiny homes" allowed in St. Mary's county?
- Thread starter zar
- Start date
I saw one for rent on Facebook Marketplace not to long ago.
If it's a true rural area where camping is an industry, I'm sure they are more receptive and the regulations are only there to protect the environment (and customer) from sleazy landlords (basic health and safety).
In more populous areas the concerns tend to run to impact on the neighbors, if a fire starts, you obviously want to knock it down before it damages more homes. But then there is community aesthetics. In the burbs people are very protective of their property values. Hence you have laws and HOAs regulate appearances. Nobody wants to buy a home next to a shithole. So while someone might want to live in one, it has the potential to be a health, safety and economic problem for their neighbors.
From what I've seen of the designs of Tiny Houses they are also geared to be eco-friendly, which typically means they have a compacting toilet, don't require a sanitary hookup, but probably a need for potable water and electric. Which to me sounds more like an RV even though they are build / meant to be used year round as a permanent residence - at least that's how they are marketed.
Very true, it depends on the community and what people want, sometimes it's what developers want because they have lawyers that sue.
If it's a true rural area where camping is an industry, I'm sure they are more receptive and the regulations are only there to protect the environment (and customer) from sleazy landlords (basic health and safety).
In more populous areas the concerns tend to run to impact on the neighbors, if a fire starts, you obviously want to knock it down before it damages more homes. But then there is community aesthetics. In the burbs people are very protective of their property values. Hence you have laws and HOAs regulate appearances. Nobody wants to buy a home next to a shithole. So while someone might want to live in one, it has the potential to be a health, safety and economic problem for their neighbors.
From what I've seen of the designs of Tiny Houses they are also geared to be eco-friendly, which typically means they have a compacting toilet, don't require a sanitary hookup, but probably a need for potable water and electric. Which to me sounds more like an RV even though they are build / meant to be used year round as a permanent residence - at least that's how they are marketed.
Tiny homes are mobile, and typically require a smaller foot print to locate (no septic). They are a hybrid of the mobile home and camper (RV).
What we call mobile homes are more like prefab, drop in place. Rarely do you see someone hook up their truck and tow it.
My guess is that when they came on the scene, the powers that be picked the classification they thought it was closer to.
Great description
I've seen some really nice tiny homes. Monello and I stayed in one in Austin and fell madly in love with it. They maximize every inch of space in those things and make 400sf seem truly spacious, plus it had nice flooring, furnishings, and cabinetry, not lightweight like you'd find in a true RV.
GWguy
*
Remember the big to-do when MD started talking about the rain tax? The way they were going to enforce it was using satellite pictures. Nothing says they couldn't do the same for tiny homes/trailers.
But if they haven't done it by now, chances are slim they ever will.
GWguy
*
Head East. Beyond the 12 mile limit.
They do use the satellite pictures to enforce all kinds of zoning, septic system and waterfront construction regs though...seen the results with my own eyes. A waterfront club near Cambridge was literally destroyed by satellite evidence that they had executed illegal "repairs" to their failed septic system.
MoCo uses aerial pictures and lidar to hunt down changes in the built environment like unpermitted pools.
SMC is still a bit more on the 'nobody cares until there is a complaint' system. The odds of getting dinged are higher the closer you get to communist central.
One way to fool the lidar is to move the 'tiny house' every couple of months so it shows up as a trailer.
Last edited:
