This document discusses tiny houses and regulations around them. It describes the author's 190 square foot tiny house and experience living in it for one year. Regulations around zoning, building codes, sewage, and greywater systems for tiny houses are also examined, with the goal of proposing changes to local zoning bylaws to allow detached tiny accessory apartments.

1. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
tiny
house
(fair & 190 ft²)
the efforts toward light living, legalized.

2. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
1) Tiny house movement
2) Tiny house regulation
3) My tiny house in Hadley

3. www.#nyhousecha-.com
www.fyi.tv
www.keva#nyhouse.com
/ˈtīnē/ /hous/☀
a home of 400 square feet or less, either on wheels or a more permanent foundation.
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
*different than RVs, mobile homes, and campers*

4. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com

5. now?WHY
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
B r i t a i n 1 8 5 0 A m e r i c a 1 9 1 5 A m e r i c a 1 9 4 0

6. now?WHY
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
punching clocks
COLLEGE DEBT
climate change
mortgage
insurance
mental health
minimum wage
FREEDOM
HAPPINESS
senior citizens
nursing homes
roommates
nutrition
down time
lack of community
bills
humility
overconsumption

7. community
environment
wellness
finances
picture:BIG
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com

8. I’ve been living tiny for 1 year:
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
• Close community and friendship
• Independence
• Emersion into farming & agriculture
• Financial stability
• Personal growth (health, creativity, resourcefulness)
• Overwhelming opportunity to share ideas and network

9. Where do I… put it?
A m e r i c a 1 9 4 0
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com

10. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
ZONING
is the way the governments control the physical development of land
and the kinds of uses to which each individual property may be put.
Hadley allows interior accessory apartments
But does not currently allow detached apartments.
Amherst allows detached accessory apartments by
permit, but they must be between 350-800 square
feet.

11. My bylaw proposal would allow a single
family home to have either an interior
accessory apartment or a detached
accessory apartment up to 410 square
feet.
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com

12. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
BUIDLING CODE
Massachusetts adopted new building codes in January 2016. These
codes allow for homes as small as ~200 square feet.
International building code
TINY HOUSES CAN BE TO BUIDING CODE!

13. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
h-p://www.blessthis#nyhouse.com
Built on a trailer
Parked with a foundation
-gravel
-concrete
-straw bail
-jacks
Built with integrity
T.H.O.W.
(Tiny Houses on Wheels)

14. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
SEWAGE?
Title 5 (sanitary code) allows composting toilets. It’s true!
Tiny houses can also tap into existing septic tanks.
GREYWATER?
Many tiny house residents do not want to attach to sewer or
septic.
Luckily, Title 5 has a permitting process for grey water gardens
through the DEP. Many alternative sanitary systems have been
approved for piloting through Mass DEP.

15. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
Greywater Garden Example
By Greywater Gorillas in Oakland, CA

16. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
Homes like this could work here.

17. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
Tiny Home Communities could work in the Urban Environment

18. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
Rhizhome

19. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
Rhizhome
2013 2016

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23. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
Experienced carpenters,
timber framers, and
professionals
Who I consulted in-person for construction:
Expert tiny home builder, Abel
Zimmerman in Olympia,
Washington
Tiny house residents in
New Hampshire

24. • building code
• health code
• zoning code
• code enforcement
• economics
• marketing
• grant writing
• banks and mortgages
sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com

25. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com
illegal

26. sarah g hastings ☀ rhizhome.com