South Carolina Tiny House Laws: Simple Checklist With Everything You Need to Know


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In this article, you’ll learn the different tiny house laws in the United States, most especially — in South Carolina.

But before we dive in, have you searched for “Tiny House” on the internet lately?

Trust me, you’re going to find a lot of information, and it’s for a reason: this is the latest trend across the world.

Small families, Individuals, and couples prefer to downsize their lives to live in much smaller spaces, which are very convenient and less expensive than most conventional houses.

If you plan on living in a tiny house in South Carolina, you need to ask yourself, “does the state support tiny houses and what laws should I be aware of?”

South Carolina Tiny House Laws state that tiny houses can be registered RVs or mobile homes. And you ought to own your private land for this house to live on. South Carolina adopted the (ICCBC) International Code Council Building Codes. Areas like Aiken and Horry country in South Carolina allow Tiny Houses, but with restrictions on where they can be placed.

South Carolina Tiny houses can range from less than 100 square feet up to 900 hundred square feet in size.

There are Small families, Individuals, and couples who are opting to live in tiny houses because they spend most of their lives and time traveling and exploring new places. By doing this, they are relieved from paying massive mortgages and house taxes.

With this tiny house, you can now save more, travel more, and spend more on yourself. In the younger generation, it brings a sense of freedom.

The responsible genius who came up with this amazing idea of Tiny Houses is Mr. Jay Shafer, who owns a company called Tumbleweed, this company is part of the small house movement.

In 2002, Mr. Jay Shafer co-founded the Small House Society in Iowa City, Iowa. Gregory Paul Johnson commissioned him to build The Mobile Hermitage in 2003; this helps became one of Tumbleweed’s first commercially sold homes.

For large families, opting this way of lifestyle can is quite advisable due to it is limited space, and opting for this lifestyle can take a little more effort and planning.

So to make the space more comfortable for you, you can opt-in for a customized tiny house.

South Carolina Tiny House Laws: A Simple Checklist

In the United States, the average home is 2,600 square feet. Just imagine you live in a house one-eighth that size “wow cool” “Oh weird.”

A family has already decided on that. This family “Singletary family” wants to opt-in for this lifestyle, just for them to have life experiences, instead of being forced to pay heavy mortgages and house taxes.

A tiny house range from 100 and 400 square feet. Other reasons folks around South Carolina are joining the movement are to have a smaller carbon footprint, and the desire to have more time and freedom.

According to WPDE, these housing communities could become realistic in Horry County. A lot of developers want to build tiny house communities in South Carolina; this can bring a change to the county law.

South Carolina Tiny House Laws state that tiny houses can be registered RVs or mobile homes. The issue about this tiny house is that you ought to own your private land for this house to live on.

South Carolina adopted the (ICCBC) International Code Council Building Codes. Areas like Aiken and Horry country in South Carolina allow Tiny Houses, but with restrictions on where they can be placed.

Tiny home regulations by State

South Carolina Building Codes and Regulations on Tiny Houses:

There is a different thing that ought to be put into consideration before the process begin.

Firstly, you have researched before you decide to build your Tiny House. You won’t have any problems and worries when you find out that you didn’t break any laws.

Here are a few things you show research on:

a). Laws: Are you planning on the type of tiny house to build in South Carolina, these types of tiny houses vary greatly?

South Carolina is more friendly toward the idea of tiny houses, so why not figure out the laws that are attached to this location.

Two major factors to consider are the zoning regulations and your location’s building codes.

b). Building codes: Building codes dictate how your tiny house should be built. Here are some of the essentials required for your tiny house before it can be approved:

  • Minimum ceiling height: Your ceiling height must attain a minimum height of 6 feet 8 inches; for your bathrooms a minimum of 6 feet 4 inches.
  • Windows: There is no specified number of windows required in a tiny house; however, it should meet the standard requirement for emergency exit points.
  • Plumbing: A minimum of one bathroom is required
  • Stairs: There should be stairs or a ladder in a tiny house for you to reach loft areas.

Building Codes is designed to provide safety for you and your family, so some standard has to be met.

South Carolina Tiny House Laws: Zoning Regulations

You can’t build or place your tiny house just anywhere you like in South Carolina. You have to check your local zoning department to know more about the area where you intend to place your tiny house.

Keep in mind you can still apply through your Planning Commission and local Zoning to build outside of the existing codes. This exception is called a Variance or Conditional Use.

It’s not always guaranteed either. 

The regulations and codes may vary by county, city, or town.  So let’s consider some cities apart from South Carolina.

Greenville County allows tiny houses of about 400 square feet or below.

The city of Rock Hill gives minimum square footage of a tiny house at 850 square feet.

The growing rate and popularity of tiny houses in South Carolina are due to the rise in housing costs and house taxes. 

However, some countries have been caught on to the fact that tiny houses are not movable, so they are open to starting the discussion.

Reasons to buy a tiny house

Want to simplify your life or change your lifestyle?

Want to reduce your monthly expenditures? Tiny houses can help you change this.

Below are the benefits of owning a tiny house:

1). Less initial cost

A tiny house is smaller than a conventional house. They require fewer materials and labor to build because of their small size.

Since tiny houses often have most of the features a conventional house has (plumbing, kitchen, flooring, roof) the price per square foot is more expensive.

But since its size is so much small, the overall price is only a fraction of a conventional house. 

2). Less energy consumption

A tiny house requires less energy to cool and heat because they have less interior air space.

Since lots of tiny houses are on wheels, during the summer tiny house owner can move their house under a large tree, and out into the sun during the winter.

To tidy up a tiny house does not require much effort. Some creative people are capable of reducing their tiny house’s energy consumption and making use of the fact that their house is tiny compared to traditional houses.

Solar panels, wind turbines, generators, compost toilets, wood stoves, the list goes on and on.

3). Less water consumption and trash

Your tiny house requires a small shower, a small water heater, and small trash. There is a lot of chance that there will be fewer water consumers and less generation trash.

Producing less trash and less water consumption is both good for the environment and your wallet.

4). Less cost for repairs

Repairing a traditional house costs thousands of dollars, but for a tiny house, less cost is required.

The cost to replace or fix the roof of a 2,000-square-foot home is quite high than the cost of a 300-square-foot home. This is because there is a reduction in size, materials, and labor.

5). Less land to purchase and upkeep

A small dwelling like a tiny house requires some portion of land. Since most cities in the united states have restrictions on the size, a house can be. Land in South Carolina is cheaper to purchase, and the taxes are less.

If you decide to buy a very small plot of land that your tiny house will reside on, you’ll spend less amount of money cutting grass. If you buy a regular land, you’ll have lots of space for a garden.

6). Less food

The tiny house usually has a small storeroom; there will be a small amount of food in your house.

If you can look through your window and see fresh vegetables growing in your garden, you’ll spend less on buying food. You’ll keep your food bill and weight down.

7). Fewer taxes

If you decide to buy land or lease for the purpose of living in a tiny house, you will have to pay fewer taxes compared to a traditional house.

Now you save more with a tiny house; the savings can go towards retirement, vacations, investments, and college for your children.

Conclusion

Don’t spend $80,000 on a small building, get real. Wouldn’t you rather purchase a tiny house and easily place it anywhere?

If you choose to place your tiny house on solid ground, it’s possible because your building is truly portable.

This tiny house sets the pace for small utility bills, maintenance, and less tax.

As our population continues to grow massively, we often spend our time at work, on vacation, and school, or out of the house than we do inside the house, so why not purchase a tiny house and save up for your vacation and investment?

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