Geography
It seems your firm is exploring a venture for building ADUs in Washington DC as well as Montgomery County (MD), Arlington County (VA), and neighboring counties. To better understand the opportunities for ADUs, I’d recommend that you look into the zoning regulations for each county (not something we have on file). In the past four years, building and zoning officials in the DC metro area (DC, MD, VA) seem to recognize the need for housing inventory, and they were instrumental in sharing their input to help foster greater allowances of construction standards for stand- alone secondary dwelling units, new construction of conjoined units, and separation of existing structures into multiple dwelling units (all things tiny). You’re likely sitting on a hotbed of opportunity in your area.
SWOT Analysis
Where product development and marketing are concerned, I believe you’ll want to understand the parameters for ADUs including multiple aspects of allowable dwelling unit types. It’s most likely that site-built, site- assembled prefab, and modular homes will be allowed as permanent secondary structures. You’ll also want to understand minimum/maximum sizes, maximum height which may limit use of 2-story homes, and allowances by areas with special designations (like historic districts). In some cases, ADUs have special requirements for placement on property and aesthetic standards. Neighborhood HOAs and properties with special C&Rs may also be seen as an opportunity, or overly restrictive. I’m spit-balling top-of-mind here as there are trends and commonalities but few uniform allowances/restrictions. Knowing where ADUs are offered and — more importantly — actually allowed and permitted will help your firm define its product designs, outline its service offerings, and identify the best areas of marketability.
Mini Tiny Community
You also mentioned a partner in the firm who is seeking a way to enter the tiny home rental business, maybe buying a property with a home where multiple tiny units may be placed as a start-up community of sorts. The term “tiny” is used rather broadly and thus you’ll want to clarify what is allowed, and what may face staunch opposition under existing regulatory allowances as well specifications coming with updates to Virginia’s uniform building code. I mention this as Virginia (actually the predominance of the U.S.) lean toward allowance of “tiny” permanent structures more than the wheeled variety. Tiny Houses on Wheels (THOWs) typically meet qualifications for Recreational Vehicles which are inherently vehicular based and thus considered personal property (chattel) not permanent and therefore real property (AKA: Real Estate). As such, TH/RVs are usually classified for use in temporary, emergency, and recreational/part-time use scenarios (but rarely formally permitted as a domicile). There may be an opportunity to develop a property into a tiny house village or small community of rental units, so just be prepared to hear and understand the “so long as” statements that define the boundaries of allowance and restriction.
RV Usage as Housing
What we’ve found in Virginia is that some rural areas allow up to two RV hook-ups with units that may be offered as short-term rentals on residential property. We currently live in Floyd County on property that converted the 2-unit max (residential) to a multiple unit campground. Like other rural areas in the commonwealth, Floyd County offers unrestricted use of rural land and yet holds sway on development through the local building department. I mention this as we raised our kids in Chesterfield County outside Richmond, and tiny houses on wheels (again, classified as RVs) were not allowed in areas zoned for residential use. Additionally, we are currently involved in a tiny home community and workforce development project that has targeted rural Caroline County (between Fredericksburg and Richmond) as their ideal area of opportunity, but the non-profit org is facing stiff opposition from county supervisors and community leaders. The request for Special Exception/Exemption died before the board in less than a minute a couple of weeks ago. I suggest your partner take a hard look at this before buying property as what looks easy on TV is often much more difficult in real life.)
In Summary – Below is a quick summation of the above in bullet form:
- ADUs have great potential in DC metro area
- ADUs will need to meet multiple design/use qualifications
- ADUs as permanent structures will need to meet state building standards
- ADUs leverage planning and permitting for new construction
- ADU permitting most likely excludes TH/RVs in DC metro area
- THOWs are usually classified as RVs
- TH/RVs on private property as rental units may face resistance
- TH/RVs may be allowed in “park settings” leveraging RV infrastructure
- TH/RV parks may be allowed in mixed use areas through SEs
- Change of zoning classification follows a formal process
- Metro areas may staunchly resist new RV parks
Personal Reflection
For the past seven years, my wife and I have been involved in the Tiny Home Movement and helped foster the growth and development of its two predominant non-profit organizations: American Tiny House Association (ATHA) and Tiny Home Industry Association (THIA).
Since 2012, we sold our conventional home, lived in a few RVs as “full-timers,” designed scores of permanent and movable tiny homes, and are finishing our own DIY owner-built tiny house on wheels here in Floyd County. We’ve helped other DIY-oriented clients build their homes, designed production models for professional tiny home builders/contractors, assisted community developers with drafts of ordinances that designate an allowance for tiny homes, and participated as noted advocates for tiny homes during standards development and code change cycles for the International Residential Code, Virginia Uniform Building Code, Off-Site Modular Construction standard, and multiple state definitions and municipal ordinance drafts.
During our time in the tiny world, we’ve seen substantial change, but it’s government/regulatory work and thus a slow moving long-term process. Where areas in a housing crisis on the west coast seem more open to allowing formally certified Tiny Houses on Wheels as backyard ADUs and housing units in tiny home communities, areas on the east coast cling to more restrictive regulations driven by dwelling classifications, building codes, and zoning ordinances. Whether tangled web or Gordian knot, seeking allowance for tiny homes can become a frustrating challenge. For us, it’s been an adventure, and we love the life we live in our tiny home, even if it comes with great accommodation on our part due to official prejudice against the existence of a “movable” dwelling unit.
A Friendly Suggestion
I suggest that you continue to dig into zoning in detail, that you understand the nuances of dwelling unit classification, and that you find the nexus of opportunity where your team’s business and product development goals are met with friendly acceptance and a commitment to streamline adoption by local officials. The mini tiny home community vision is great, though the hurdles may prove insurmountable. When reaching out to local zoning officials, I suggest you seek info on tiny-sized ADUs as permanent structures independent from your questions about a tiny home community. While both may include the word “tiny,” they are likely very different from the perspective of land use regulations. I think I would frame your survey as two distinct groupings of questions, i.e. don’t let questions about one tiny interest kill the other.
In the end…
We are facing myriad housing crises in the U.S., and the DC metro area seems ripe with opportunity. Where a one-size-fits-all solution is ideal, focusing on more geo-targeted solutions will likely help you prime the pump and start realizing some faster ROI.
Live Large — Go Tiny!
Thom Stanton
