Do you know what the Colorado Tiny House laws say? Tiny homes are becoming more popular by the day and gaining the attention of the media. Sometimes, the only issue is the rules and regulations guiding the building of Tiny Homes.
A bit about living in Colorado
If you are planning to build or buy a tiny home in Colorado, that’s a nice idea. Colorado is known for its landscape of mountains, high plains, forests, canyons, rivers, plateaus, and desert lands. It is one of the mountain states in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is also noted to be the 21st most populous and eighth most extensive state in the United States.
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When compared, Colorado is also one of the wealthy states in the US. Major aspects of its economy include agriculture, tourism, government and defense, mining, and increasingly other kinds of manufacturing.
One of the grey areas regarding tiny homes in Colorado is its rules and regulations. Most times a tiny home is labeled as a dwelling or an RV.
A tiny home is referred to as a dwelling when it is built on a permanent foundation. It may be in a tiny home community or the backyard of a traditional standard home. Sometimes you may see written in a legal document, that it is classified as an accessory dwelling unit.
While those tiny homes on wheels which could easily be moved from one location to another are most times classified as an RV in the state of Colorado. Constructing tiny homes on wheels makes categorizing tiny homes a challenging one.
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Things To Note About Tiny House laws In Colorado
1. Tiny Home Location
An easy and good way of getting into tiny home living is to locate an established tiny home community and join. In Colorado, there are some tiny home community options like the Escalante Village in Durango and others located in the towns of Salida and Walsenburg.
El Paso County is one of the few regions that allow full-time RV living, so you could decide to live here. But if you prefer to be closer to the mountains, you can go to unincorporated Park County. Although, there are some restrictions. All homes must have plumbing, running water, electricity, and sanitation.
Each county has its building code requirements. It is advised to reach out to the county’s officials before you purchase land for your tiny home and even while building ensures you solicit proper building permits and inspections. This is necessary if you want your tiny home to be legal. Here, a tiny home with a foundation will cost more and need more effort than a tiny house on wheels.
2. Classification Of Tiny Home
As said earlier, Colorado treats most tiny homes on wheels as if they were an RV, but tiny homes with foundations are considered dwellings. If this is how it goes, the state and local RV ordinances apply, not leaving out the fact that it must comply with American National Safety Institute standard 119.2. For tiny houses classified as dwellings, they are subject to building codes and zoning laws, including following the minimum square footage, ceiling heights, and more.
In most Colorado counties, it is illegal to live in your RV all year round. In El Paso County, it is quite different. They recently changed their view on the issue but there are still a few restrictions. The city zoning laws also apply. You just have to research more before buying land or going to an RV park, as some of these parks do not permit tiny homes.
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3. Market For Tiny Homes
In Colorado, the market for tiny homes is not like that of traditional homes. Tiny homes are likely to reduce in value like RVs and funding the building of a tiny home may be a challenge except if you already have the required money. A&M Group advices that one way to increase the value of one’s Tiny home would be to get professional cleaning done inside and outside the building, including carpets, windows, doors, sidings and roof.
4. Colorado Tiny House laws specific rules and regulations
Some counties made specific changes to their tiny house laws and in the case of accessory-dwelling units (ADUs) too.
In Walsenburg, Colorado, their officials have made it easier to build and own tiny homes. They waved minimum square footage, waved stairway regulations, and reduced the requirement for the size of the exit door. Making it a lot easier.
While Park County, Colorado has relatively become a place for tiny home enthusiasts and has also made some changes to its regulations. They waved specific regulations that concern having separate closets, having a living room of more than 220 sq. ft with 100 sq. ft per occupant, separate bathrooms with water closets/showers/bathtubs, and lavatories, and clear working space of more than thirty inches in the kitchen.
Despite these changes, ventilation, light, and life safety requirements must be met.
Frequently asked questions about Colorado Tiny House Laws
Let’s go into more specifics about the rules and regulations involved in building a Tiny Home in Colorado:
Does Colorado Have A Set Minimum Square Footage for Tiny Homes?
Some states set specific limits on the square footage for a tiny home, but Colorado is not one of those states.
Colorado follows the standard definition, that most tiny homes should range from 100 to 400 square feet. However, any house under 1,000 square feet is also considered a tiny house in this place.
You want to ensure you know the exact size of your tiny home before you complete it in Colorado.
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Can I Live in a Tiny House on Wheels?
Yes, but a tiny house on wheels is not classified as a dwelling, they are classified as RVs and are not meant for full-time living. So, it is illegal for you to live in it full-time.
However, tiny houses on wheels can be used for vacation or to stay in them seasonally in an RV park or possibly place in the backyard of a preexisting property. This will depend on the zoning for your particular county and municipality.
Conclusion
I hope this post was helpful and you have been able to know more about Colorado’s tiny house laws. If this article was helpful to you, your friends may have this same issue. Please share it with them on Social Media via the Social Media share buttons at the bottom of this post.
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