Tiny Home or Trailer? Cochrane Homeowner Prepares to Fight

Tiny homes are hot right now. There are TV shows dedicated to the design and construction of little wee homes that are well under 400 square feet.

Take Gregg Taylor, a Cochrane area contractor, who built a tiny home for himself. It's only 160 square-feet and is parked on a five-acre parcel of land in Rockyview County. He wanted something affordable and this little home is completely mortgage-free. He wanted a Cochrane home that was environmentally sustainable and off the grid. His little house meets all his requirements. The trouble is, county officials and neighbours aren't happy with him.

In fact, after parking his house on his lot for just a month he was handed a fine of $1,500 by Rockyview County bylaw officials and will be assessed further penalties if he doesn't move his home by Nov. 30.

Taylor had permission in writing from the owner of his five-acre plot to put a tiny home on the land. His landlord, according to the law, is the party who is actually responsible for paying the fine. He is proud of the fact that his home has a carbon footprint of zero. Taylor has taken full responsibility for whatever bylaw he's broken and plans on fighting his fine on behalf of himself and the community.

Tiny Home Trouble

A spokesman for the county told the Cochrane Eagle that the tiny home, which was brought to the county's attention by a disgruntled neighbour, is on wheels. It's like a recreational vehicle and county land use bylaws say that residences on acreages must be permanent otherwise habitation is not allowed.

Taylor hasn't been advised of this by the county. The only communication thus far as been the issuance of the ticket. He believes that the county's land use regulations are a little sketchy and that he can use this grey area to contest his ticket and eviction in court.

Trailers aren't allowed to be used as a permanent residence, nor are motor homes if there is no permanent residence on the lot. The county says there is no provision for water for Taylor's tiny home or provision for waste water. Items which Taylor says he's not in a position to afford at the moment given the uncertainty of his situation.

The only way that a tiny home would be allowed says the county is if the individual applies for a development permit. Once that's granted, a building permit would be required. Once a building permit is issued, the applicant needs to ensure that standard building practices are followed. A foundation, potable water and wastewater solution. Once these things are in place, a tiny home would meet the standard for a permanent residence.

The land where Taylor is currently parked isn't zoned for mobile home use so he wouldn't qualify under that proviso either. Even with proper zoning, a permanent residence needs to coexist in the same lot.

Calling his structure a tiny home doesn't mean anything. A home on wheels is a mobile home according to the county. End of story.

The fact that Taylor has a sign on his tiny home and his truck parked next to it for his renovations business isn't helping. It appears that his tiny home is also for commercial purposes and not just a private home. He told the local paper that he would like government to work with him and seek solutions rather that enforce rules that might be outdated.

Another Cochrane tiny home builder agrees that municipalities need to work with homeowners to figure out how to regulate the construction and placement of these trendy abodes.

Mark Kirk of Blackbird Tiny Homes says there's a reason these types of homes are trendy and governments should figure it out.