Homeless Couple Gets A Home On Christmas Eve, Thanks To ‘Occupy’ Group

Many tiny houses are equipped with a tiny woodstove, or a wall-mounted propane heater like this one, which as you can see, is only slightly larger than your average shoebox:

Regulations relating to traditional mobile homes and RV's would apply though and those can be amazingly restrictive and require registration at the State level not unlike buying a tag for an automobile. That, in turn would require a title be issued. That would require the builders to follow all the proper regulation required to become a title issuing entity.

Trust me. The .gov will find a way to intervene. I have two decades of experience proving it.

Actually, the usual Mobile home/RV rules only apply to "manufactured" housing, and not after-market DIY one-offs. (If there's an exception, I've not heard of it on any of the Tiny House sites/forums I frequent.)

Getting a title-tag for a trailer is easy in most states, and is only required for the trailer as it came from the manufacturer, while any structure added later, is designated merely as "cargo". So long as the trailer itself is up to DMV standards, few other regulation apply.

Most states don't have building regulations/restrictions for any inert/non-living cargo you might happen to haul on your trailer, beyond requiring you to have adequate auto insurance for your tow vehicle, to cover damage or injury that might occur should your "cargo" come loose of the trailer in transit, and cause an accident.

I can remember reading about someone having to get a zoning waver in order to live in their RV for a year, in an area where mobile homes were perfectly fine. (It was in a notice in the newspaper of the town I was living in at the time.)

That's probably a zoning thing, where some areas are zoned for houses, and others for trailers, and someone requested a special exception for using a temporary shelter on their lot while renovating or building a permanent structure to replace it.

I've never heard of rules against vegetable gardens, though I do live under a no backyard chickens regime

http://www.dsireusa.org/solar/summarymaps/

Arizona sets fees for rooftop solar.

Eh, this is no different than what the MPAA and the RIAA have attempted in order to stop piracy. We see how well that worked out for them. Potentially, this puts solar at the level of MP3s in the late 90s, which would mean that we can expect some rather significant breakthroughs fairly soon. Given the stuff that's been reported to work in the lab, I think its possible.

Yep, there are a growing number of areas pulling the kind of shit that make it tough to live off the grid, regardless of what size your house happens to be.

Pfft, Arizona! Almost as amusing as Florida.

A lot of regulatory bullshit going on in the sun belt it seems.

Aren't they supposed to be places where "smaller government" is the dominant philosophy?

When your entire system depends on forcing people to buy power in order to dry their clothes...

Are those states with laws on the books,or are they states with HOAs with stupid rules?

In my experience the majority of restrictive zoning was put in place in the 50s through 70s in order to keep minorities out (see also redlining).

While some areas of the country may be moving backwards more progressive areas are moving in the right direction, relaxing zoning limits and giving people more control over their property and lives.

In Seattle, every code change brings a relaxation of the code and increase in freedom/livability. First expansion of ADUs (additional dwelling units [what I grew up calling a mother-in-law apartment]), then the creation of DADUs (detached ADUs [backyard cottages]).

Vegetable gardens are totally legal (including in front yard) as are chickens and goats (although there are limits on numbers). Both of those (chickens and goats) are within the last ten years.

Required parking minimums are (slowly) being rolled back with some areas completely exempt now.

Microhousing is on the rise.

California:

• State direct cash incentives for both photovoltaics and solar water heating
• Property tax incentives for solar photovoltaics
• Direct cash and property tax incentives for solar water heating
• State loan programs and utility incentives for solar projects
• Property tax incentives for solar projects
• State photovoltaic and solar water heating rebates
• Solar easement and solar rights provisions
• Solar industry recruitment/support incentive

APS originally asked for a much higher fee. Scumbags

Hawaii having the laws is most likely tied into the tourist industry. They don't want people visiting and seeing a lot of unsightly clotheslines all over the apartments and condos. I still see them all the time in non-tourist areas. Probably the same laws that prohibit billboards...yup, no billboards on the highways. They also limit other signage and campaign posters to the minimum they can get away with without violating the 1st amendment. A bit draconian, but I'm not complaining.

On an unrelated notes...they closed the breaker on my solar power system Thursday 12/26

https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/pv/public_systems/KeVY293176

This. The more popular this becomes, the more the almighty State will intervene to make it impossible.

Yes, its worked out so well for them when it comes to stopping piracy on the internet. Oh, wait.

Chinese slave labor factories are churning out solar panels as fast as they can make them, and they're getting more efficient every year. The state can slap all the taxes and tariffs it wants on them, but pretty soon, it doesn't matter how much the energy companies donate to politicians, the public will toss out any politician who votes against solar panels. Not that it matters, because by 2030 (at the latest), you'll be able to download plans for solar panels and use your 3D printer to whip out as many as you want for nothing.

Man, in SoCal where you get 330 days of sunlight a year, you're stupid NOT to have solar power if you're a homeowner.

I think the tiny house movement will pick up more and more momentum, particularly as more Millenials look into home ownership. They face huge student loans, poor career prospects, and potentially stifling property taxes, HOAs, and the like - but household items are getting slimmer and smaller (or take up no physical space, like video, music, and picture collections), and fewer and fewer people entertain large groups in their houses these days, and you have the bonus of a more economical footprint. So it would make sense for the trend to be back towards smaller homes, and not just for the exceedingly poor. There are probably even a lot of older people finding that they haven't saved enough for retirement who would benefit from having smaller houses.

I'd look more into building a ~300 sq ft home if I could. But (at least around here) the zoning is all for 2000 sq ft McMansions! And they say no one would buy a small home. I think there are plenty of people (especially in my area) who would disagree - lots of young and old folks looking to steer clear from too much debt and who don't need tons of space.

The Onion knocks the OP outta the fucking park.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/local-church-full-of-brainwashed-idiots-feeds-town,34860/

...and then they all voted Republican, and made some more homeless people.