Collective PINS Complaint OSMTH 1215 - Tiny House Alliance USA

Collective PINS Complaint Gathered 407 Signatures

I submitted the collective PINS complaint on June 15, 2025 to ICC along with 407 signatures of the Change.Org Petition –Oppose ICC Hijacking Tiny Houses With Small Residential Units.
Skip down to the Collective PINS complaint below to read the complaint.

Read Petition First

If you are new to this information, please read the petition and the updates to get caught up to speed. There is also a short summary below.

I attended the June 18, 2025 OSMTH 1215 meeting and I asked ICC staff about our PINS complaint. He stated that they received a couple of comments and that they expected to answer before their deadline of July 15, 2025.

I would describe that to have the signatures of over 600 people that was gathered between 2 petitions is more than a ‘couple of comments’ but his statement is a signal to me that no matter what they will still continue to unfold the SRU agenda.

Please Keep Sharing The Petition

More than ever, we need to keep exposing this regulatory grab of the tiny house industry under the guise of standardization for BIG INDUSTRY. Please keep sharing the petition, in case we need further group action. Thank you in advance.

Short Summary Of The Issue

URGENT: Tiny House Advocates Call on the Public to Stop ICC’s Attempt to Hijack Tiny Houses with Small Residential Units (SRU)

The Tiny House Alliance USA is sounding the alarm on a critical threat to the tiny house movement. The International Code Council (ICC) is pushing an alarming revision of the ICC/THIA 1215 standard that was supposed to be about tiny houses. It now has a new title that includes the Small Residential Unit term, The new title is called ICC/THIA 1215 Design, Construction, Inspection, and Regulation of Small Residential Units and Tiny Houses for Permanent Occupancy . This revision could permanently alter the landscape for tiny houses by positioning the vague, non-enforceable category of “Small Residential Units” (SRUs) as the dominant focus, pushing tiny houses to a secondary role. Tiny Houses are now a subcategory under a Small Residential Unit

Why This Matters: A Corporate Takeover of Tiny Houses

The original intent of the ICC/THIA 1215 standard was to support tiny houses on wheels by including chassis provisions and ensuring their place as legal, permanent housing solutions. This would have supported the success of tiny houses under the 2024 IRC’s Appendix Q Tiny Houses. Instead, ICC’s new proposal dramatically shifts focus, introducing SRUs – a term that could encompass homes as large as 1200 square feet. In doing so, ICC has dangerously blurred the line between tiny houses and larger, traditional residential structures, all but eliminating the unique needs and potential of tiny houses.

SRUs: A Trojan Horse for Big Corporations

This move, which aims to position Small Residential Units, a made-up term, up to 1200 square feet in a primary position over tiny houses, a codified term in the IRC, could inadvertently swallow up the tiny house movement. The ICC is pushing a vague, confusing definition that has already raised massive concerns about the future of tiny houses. Without clear boundaries, tiny houses risk being classified as just a small version of the larger, corporate-driven housing market, losing their identity as affordable, relocatable homes designed for those seeking freedom, independence, and low-cost housing solutions.

ICC's Egregious Overreach and Violation of ANSI Standards

The ICC is moving forward with this drastic shift despite overwhelming opposition in public hearings. Their efforts to push SRUs as the central focus of the standard reflect a blatant overreach, disregarding ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Essential Requirements that prohibit the dominance of any single interest group. The process has been heavily influenced by ICC and its close associates in the Tiny Home Industry Association (THIA), sidelining small manufacturers and owner-builders who are the backbone of the tiny house movement. The standard is not being developed in an open, fair, and balanced way, violating procedural requirements designed to ensure diverse participation.

Unintended Consequences Of The SRU

The Small Residential Unit ( SRU) is a term that is not enforceable, not currently recognized by HUD, building officials, architects, engineers, designers, builders, loan officers, insurance agents, legislators, city council members, planning departments, code enforcement, testing labs, third party agencies, manufacturers of products, NHTSA, DOT, consumers, police officers, and firefighters to name only a few organizations and types of industries that the term Small Residential Unit could affect if the standard remains with the focus of the Small Residential Unit.

Think about how much change it would take to introduce this new term, which is more of a description of a house, and already closely associated with ADUs, and single residential units to all of the above organizations, and industries.