Katherine Bohn sent me her PINS complaint to ICC. Thanks Katherine. 

Dear Director of Standards,

As a tiny house owner, I would like to weigh in on the proposed inclusion of tiny houses under the small residential units (1100sq ft) standard. I paid for my tiny house shell to be built on a moveable chassis and personally installed everything from my insulation system to internal walls and electrical under the NOAH seal. I feel that as a tiny house owner, I am able to speak with authority about tiny houses.

I respectfully disagree: tiny houses should not be included under the larger umbrella as SRUs.The SRU is not enforceable by building officials. This disrupts the progress of tiny homes and will bring confusion to the marketplace by squeezing out small manufacturers. Owner builders are not represented by SRU manufacturers. SRUs fail to address solutions to the housing crisis to decrease square footage and increase density on lots by allowing much smaller homes, including tiny homes of 400 square feet or less. SRUs also disrupt the progress of Appendix Q, that have been adopted by more than half of the US and continues to be adopted as states catch up to the 2018 IRC.
 
 
Tiny houses are 400 sq ft or less and are often built on chassis or skids, which makes them much more accessible to the community at large as they can be moved to address housing concerns in neighborhoods at will. Tiny houses provide a needed niche for people who cannot get bank-backed mortgages or find affordable housing in other markets such as apartments. Tiny houses include ADUs that may not include all fixtures that would be assumed to be included in a standard 1100 sq ft home. And most importantly, tiny homes are small enough that they can be placed almost anywhere. 

SRUs are a much smaller market now as builders attempt to expand square footage, but they are also more likely to be in a category of expense that excludes what is an increasing market of people who are unable to move into the regular housing market. SRUs cannot address the needs of people who must be nomadic to support themselves (such as traveling nurses). Also, SRUs are built exactly like larger houses and often include garages and other amenities that tiny houses cannot provide and the homeowners do not want.

Again, as a tiny house owner, I was able to design my home to ensure that it could be off-grid as needed. This included water-holding tanks and solar. I do not have to hook my home up to have electricity. I have reduced my carbon footprint to plan for the future. I was able to move my home when I had no means of work. I was able to create a life that was meaningful but it did not mean that I had to spend so much money I could not afford to live.

If you continue to place tiny homes under the umbrella of SRUs, you do a disservice to those of us who do not WANT to live in something bigger. I have everything I need. Please take my thoughts into consideration.

Thank you,
Katherine Bohn