Council wants tiny home builders and buyers to understand difference between vehicle and building

The Rangitīkei District Council was seeing more enquiries from people about how they could make use of tiny homes on their properties. Photo / Supplied

A local council wants to clear the confusion on whether tiny homes are classed as buildings or vehicles.

"While some tiny homes have wheels and may be sold as vehicles, once they are in place they are often classed as buildings and subject to the building code," Rangitīkei District Council manager of regulatory services Johan Cullis said.

He said this could be a large, covered, self-contained trailer purchased with the intention of converting it into a tiny home by removing the wheels and building a deck around it, thinking it would be more cost-effective than purchasing a purpose-built tiny home.

"When purchased, this trailer would have been classed as a vehicle, however, once it was immovable, no longer road worthy, and occupied by people on a permanent or long-term basis, it would no longer be classed as a vehicle," Cullis said.

He said this meant the tiny home needed to comply with the Building Act and all relevant clauses in the Building Code, requiring anything from insulation to ventilation and resulting in unexpected costs.

Cullis said there were rumours circulating about changes to the building regulations that impacted tiny home buyers.

"This can lead to people making decisions without understanding what regulations their new tiny home needs to meet."

He said with the growth of tiny homes in Rangitīkei, following a nationwide trend, the council was seeing more enquiries from people about how they could make use of tiny homes on their properties.

"We really want to help inform the buyers and sellers of these homes of their responsibilities upfront."

A Whanganui District Council (WDC) spokesperson said they received very few enquiries about tiny homes, and when they did, they referred them to the recently-released guidelines available from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

MBIE released a guidance document in November 2021 to assist people considering building or buying a tiny home to understand the regulations.

"The guidance is designed to make the process much more accessible including how to identify the difference between a building and a vehicle," the WDC spokesperson said.

NZ Tiny Homes owner Jamie Cameron said tiny home builders and people purchasing tiny homes needed to do their due diligence.

"The last thing you want is to put a tiny house somewhere and then have the council knocking on your door."

Cameron said people should always check whether their local council's rules had changed, as every council had different requirements.

NZ Tiny Homes is a tiny home manufacturer based out of Taranaki and Christchurch with show houses across the country, including one in Marton.

Cameron said roughly 70 per cent of tiny homes sold at NZ Tiny Homes were being purchased as second dwellings.

"So maybe for a child or an older parent, or an investment rental or Airbnb."

He said a common misunderstanding was a second dwelling under 30 square metres could have a bathroom or a kitchen without consent.

"A sleepout doesn't require consent only if it's under 30 square metres and has no bathroom, kitchen, kitchenette or toilet."

Cameron said his company's tiny homes were classed as dwellings and most of them were going on piles.

"This means they come with full building code compliance.

"If a tiny home doesn't meet the building code it doesn't add value to the property and is pretty much just a caravan sitting on some land."

Cameron said tiny homes were still a good way to save money.

"I think a big part of the problem is land ownership."

He said finding land to place tiny homes on was tough and the cost of products for land was not cheap.

"But there are also a lot of people who are prepared to lease a bit of land and I think most of them just want to make sure the tiny house is a certain quality if it's going to be put on their land."

The Building Act 2004 is New Zealand legislation administered by MBIE.

The act defines a building as a temporary or permanent movable or immovable structure.

These include any vehicles or motor vehicles that are immovable and are occupied by people on a permanent or long-term basis.

"Tiny houses on wheels will often be vehicles eg motor homes, but may also meet the definition of a building if they are immovable and occupied by people on a permanent or long-term basis," the act states.

A tiny house is considered occupied by people if it is used or intended to be used for residential purposes, including a weekend or holiday, or business activities.

It is also considered occupied on a permanent basis when there is no anticipated end date to its occupation by people.