Removing Tiny House Barriers Created By ICC

To understand why tiny houses have come full circle back to ASTM, it is necessary to look at what interrupted that path. The formation of an ASTM committee for tiny houses was delayed for ONE YEAR  after objections from the International Code Council and Tiny Home Industry Association, based on claims about regulatory authority and the role of standards. Yet when those claims are examined alongside statutory definitions, code development history, and the widespread use of ASTM standards within the I-Codes, they do not reflect the full regulatory framework already in place.

A Focus On Their Main Objections From The ICC CEO

First Point From ICC CEO

If a unit is built on wheels and a permanent chassis, and if one of the following conditions is met—
greater than or equal to 8 feet wide, greater than or equal to 40 feet in length, or 320 square feet or more—then the HUD Manufactured Home Standards must be followed
unless the manufacturer elects to proactively construct the unit as a modular home.
In that case, it must comply with requirements based on a nationally recognized code or equivalent requirements recognized by the HUD Secretary.

The codes currently recognized are the predecessors to the IRC. The requirement specifically calls for a code (not a standard) or equivalent requirements, which by nature would mean duplication of the content covered in the IRC.

ICC Chassis Provisions Turned Down 3 Times ( 10 Years)

An ICC Code That Would Have Included Chassis Provisions For Tiny Houses In The IRC Or IBC Have Failed Three Times In 10 Years

Appendix Q Tiny Houses: 2018 IRC-ICC Did Not Allow Movable Provisions
ICC/MBI 1200 and 1205 : 2024 IBC -After disapproval, all tiny house terms were stricken.

Appendix BB Tiny Houses: 2027 IRC- Code Was Not Approved

ICC stated it could not be a standard, it had to be a code.
ICC duplicated ASTM and created a standard, while the code was turned down.

Do You Have Whiplash Yet? 

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Janet Thome President 
Tiny House Alliance USA 
janet@tinyhouseallianceusa 
509 345 2013