With Our Eyes On The Future,
THIA Supports The Expansion Of Tiny Home Acceptance By
Working Towards:
- Consensus-based development of construction standards, planning, and inspection protocols
- Professional development resources, tiny house movement research, and consumer education programs, along with news
- Collaboration on a coordinated approach to legitimize tiny homes as a safe, permissible and permanent quality housing option.
Current Initiatives
Consultation and Guidance on how-to perfect, implement and adopt the various existing tiny home friendly building standards, in current local and state-level efforts.
Past Initiatives And Currently Supporting:
LA Gives The Green Light To Movable Tiny Homes
- Virginia’s IRC Appendix Q in-progress approval process, inclusive of 2021 proposed changes, a THIA/ATHA collaboration.
- Washington State Building Code public testimony, ensuring planned improvements to state building code include appropriate code language to handle “tiny houses with wheels”, as required by SB5383.
- Florida State Building Code approval process for IRC Appendix Q and draft language guidance on a companion state bill to extend this to movable tiny homes.
- IRC Appendix Q approval process for the additional following jurisdictions: California, Montana, New York, Denver, Boulder, Archuleta County, Colorado Connecticut, New Hampshire, Hawaii and Smithville Texas.
Follow our Appendix Q code development page - New Hampshire is considering legislation or regulations to identify movable tiny houses as a home which can be habitable on a permanent bases vs an RV which is only for part time use. Drafts of bills have been developed for several states to accomplish this task and information provided legislators, their staffs and regulatory bodies
- California municipalities and counties review and approval processes to permit movable tiny houses as legal, habitable accessory dwelling units. Including: San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Fort Bragg, San Jose, Humboldt County and Placer County.
- THIA members were co-proponents contributing to the editing and public comments of the new 2021 IRC Appendix Q Edition.
- Support Of Tiny Hand Up and the tiny home development in Calhoun, Georgia
News And Events
Sharing the latest tiny home movement happenings and advocacy efforts. Visit THIA’s blog and events page for the latest in the industry
Resource Sharing
To help further advocacy efforts and tiny house building by DIYers and professionals, see our IRC Tiny House Appendix Q code development page.
The Resource page has recommendations for books, certification, insurance, vetted transport companies and more.
What’s Your Tiny Story?
Sharing tiny dwellers’ experiences downsizing, building and securing placement for their dwelling. Did you build a tiny home, or do you live in one? Share your story here!
Long Term Goals
- Research – gather critical data on the tiny house movement
- ANSI Accreditation – THIA is thoroughly preparing for the involved accreditation process to become an ANSI Standard Developer (ASD). Did you know other ASDs include the ICC, RVIA, and NFPA?
- Promote effective and productive cooperation between tiny home enthusiasts and local building construction policymakers.
- Assist the efforts of private individuals, commercial entities, and humanitarian organizations to broaden acceptance of tiny homes as code-compliant residential structures on a nationwide basis.
- Encourage and foster collaboration between its member companies in ways that will allow them to better serve the tiny home community;
- Standards – to develop, promulgate, and publish voluntary, consensus-based, ANSI-accredited building standards. The purpose is to promote the creation of local building regulations that serve to protect the health and safety of the occupants of small residential structures (tiny homes). Also, to identify and promote the use of other relevant building standards already in existence which may also serve that purpose.
Relationship Building And Cooperation
Promote effective and productive cooperation between tiny home enthusiasts and local building construction policymakers
Assist the efforts of private individuals, commercial entities, and humanitarian organizations to broaden acceptance of tiny homes as code-compliant residential structures on a nationwide basis
Encourage and foster collaboration between our members and industry leaders in ways that will allow them to better serve the tiny home community
Host Events
Produce and coordinate organized events for its member companies to promote their various goods and services.
Media
Publish material through various media that explains and promotes the THIA’s objectives, policies, products, and services and which explains the benefits of membership.
Represent
Positively and broadly represent the vast array of interests involved in the commercial trades and the non-commercial entities that serve and are served by the tiny home industry.
Promote
Promote the use of THIA’s voluntary standards within the context of local building regulations as a means of:
- Enhancing local economies
- Benefiting the health, safety, and welfare of local residents
- Encouraging financially responsible commerce that is driven by the associated activities of the local building trades
- Building trust with the jurisdictions, consumer, builders, insurance providers and financial institutions to be unified in standards for the tiny home industry.
