Posted on 04/03/2016 10:33:46 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The tiny house movement has taken America by storm, in part because our economy is in the toilet. People are striving to reduce their expenses by embracing minimalism. They’re breaking free from the corporate grind because, as I’ve always advised, they are learning to live with less and radically reducing their expenses.
But, these days in America, you are sharply admonished when you try to live your life outside of the strictures of the 9-5 world. Is it any surprise that the government is now taking steps to limit our ability to drastically reduce our expenses? They always seem to make illegal anything we try to do to be more independent and moving into a tiny house appears to be the next on their list.
HUD has proposed the following law:
This proposed rule would modify the current exemption for recreational vehicles in the Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations. Under the current exemption, questions have arisen regarding whether park model recreational vehicles are regulated by HUD’s manufactured home program. These park models are being produced with patio roofs, screened in porches, and other extensions that exceed the 400 square foot maximum exemption in the current regulations. Additionally, some of these models are being marketed as suitable for year round living. HUD’s proposed rule would permit recreational vehicle manufactures to certify that a unit is exempted from HUD’s regulations. Specifically, HUD’s proposed rule would define a recreational vehicle as a factory build vehicular structure, not certified as a manufactured home, designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence or for permanent occupancy, and built and certified in accordance with either the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1192-2015, Standard for Recreational Vehicles, or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A119.5-15, Recreational Park Trailer Standard. In addition, to provide consumers notice regarding the manufacturing standards used to construct the unit, HUD’s rule would require that units claiming the exemption display a notice that identifies the standards used to construct the unit and states that the unit is designed only for recreational use, and not as a primary residence or permanent dwelling.
That’s right – if this law is passed, these structures will be classified as “not suitable for a primary residence or permanent dwelling” in April of this year.
While currently they’re only talking about a label, how long will it be before the long arm of the law reaches out to punish those living full time in homes that are deemed “not suitable for a primary residence or permanent dwelling”? My bet is, not long at all. This may be the first step toward making it illegal to live in a tiny home or an RV.
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White Trash Explopes!
I have had several camper trailers.
Word from experience. Try to get the towable. They might be harder to pull but, they generally have a lower ceiling and that makes for a HELL of a big advantage when you heat or cool them.
The fifth wheel I had I could NOT get that thing above 40 degrees in cold weather and below 85 in hot.
The towables I had-one 22 and the other 32 ft, I could use a simple 20 dollar electric heater and I could get the temps up to 75 in the winter and down to 80 in the heat of the summer. The 32 was harder, but it worked well. Untill the wife decided she wanted to load the dang thing with all her “stuff” and it got to be a real hassle.
It is not always about money.
I was buying a new tire for my travel trailer and began a conversation with another customer who was looking at some kind of part.
I told him that mine was a Jayco travel trailer. It turned out his was a $250,000 motor home. He was not even a full timer.
Can we just stop with all the regulations & let people buy or sell what they want? There was an article here not too long ago where developers who wanted to build micro apartments were fighting regulations that required an apartment to be over 700 sq ft (or something like that).
If a person wants a tiny house or apartment, it’s up to them & nobody else. Just like it’s up to them if they want to build a McMansion.
An acquaintance makes a damn good living refurbing RV roofs.
In the Age of Obama, with declining income, and rising living costs (But only a RASSIST would say there is inflation under Obama, right?) RV’s have become a very popular way of cutting expenses.
$10K for a good older travel trailer, $3-5k to refurb it, and $250-400 a month for lot rent. A great alternative for singles or couples in areas with outrageously expensive housing.
Consider that HUD Section 8 sets the floor on rents in America now. Whatever the Sec* “Base Rent Payment” is for your area determines rent costs. If you DO NOT want the Section8 type of renter, you charge a higher rate, sometimes much higher.
If you want to pay less than the Sec8 base, it’s likely going to be a slum.
I would think it is the handiwork of lobbyists from the various Home Builders Associations, National Home Builders Associations, or the likes cashing in on their large campaign donations (bribes) to some nameless politician(s).
I have friends as elderly as my wife, and myself (actually a little older) who recently downsized into just such a scenario as described in this article. They already have to leap through hoops in California due property tax laws that make it difficult for them to actually live peacefully in their new lifestyle, and now this on the horizon.
Exactamundo.
Isn’t that what Valerie Jarrett specialized in?
Check this.
I know a guy in CA who just recently inherited a home, and within 6 months sold it because even though he owned it outright, he still could not afford the government taxes/expenses/upkeep to live in the home. The home was sold to a foreign investor.
Oh, and he’s now living in an RV and loves it.
Get yourself a dually. Then a good towable.
That way you have a pickup and even can tow other things.
My 03 Dodge cummins would get 13 MPG towing a my 32 ft travel trailer. Empty, it would get 22. It was a 4X4.
I know, its a bitch dragging that thing around. But a couple of short trips you will get comfortable with it. Wind is a big problem with any of the RVs.
Lots of retirees, especially in the southwest, live in the park model homes year-round. They’re an affordable and comfortable answer for people who either don’t have a lot of money in retirement, or don’t want/need/can’t handle a large place. Definitely something I’m looking into for my own retirement.
HUD Provided Housing
I’d actually thought of it before I got this house. It would be quite comfortable to live in a 360 (18ft x 20ft) sq foot house, assuming it has a sleeping loft with storage.
Some ‘Park Model’ trailers were very popular in Florida a while back. Since they were under 500 sqft, HUD had no say in the use of them. That seems to be changing. Uncle Sam didn’t show an interest in little waterways, back then, too. Now, everything belongs to Big Brother.
America’s decline is programmed into the DNA of our massive, proto-fascist nanny state bureaucracy.
Those were decent Brownstones at one time. Not anymore.
It’s all about total control.
I’d laugh, but you’re probably right. Leave it to the government to ruin a good thing.
Sounds good Altura. Good luck with that. I hope it works out for you.
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