Janet Thome is the Founder, the President and the Treasurer of Tiny House Alliance USA.
Janet Thome Led The ASTM International Tiny Houses Initiative Leading
Janet Thome led the tiny houses initiative leading to the final approval of a new ASTM International Tiny Houses Sub Committee E06.26 within the E06 Performance Of Buildings Committee. The Tiny Houses subcommittee will develop and maintain standards specific to the tiny house industry indefinitely. Janet Thome is the member secretary of the E06.26 Tiny Houses Sub Committee.
Overview Of The ASTM Tiny Houses E06.26 Standards Sub Committee
The focus of this committee is the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus
standards for tiny houses, with attention to safety, quality, uniformity, reliability, consumer
confidence, and ethical business practices, including, but not limited to, best building practices,
test methods, certification, a global quality assurance program, requirements and auditing of 3rd
parties that provide plan review and inspect tiny houses, tiny house community developments,
micro-grid utilities, and minimum construction requirements.
The work of this committee will be coordinated with other ASTM technical committees and other
national and international organizations having mutual or related interests.
We Envision a World Where Legislators, Building Code Officials, Builders and Consumers No Longer Have to Weave the Mass Confusion of Conflicting Codes and Standards for Tiny Houses
Invitation To Join The ASTM Tiny Houses Sub Committee
Janet Thome Was A Featured Speaker With HUD And FHA
Janet Thome, founder and President Of Tiny House Alliance USA was a featured speaker at the Virtual HUD Office Of Housing Virtual Conference on Sept 19, 2024, a three day conference, starting on Sept. 17, 2024 promoting community and driving change.
Janet Thome discussed discussing tiny homes and the advocacy of Tiny House Alliance USA and the new ASTM Tiny Houses standards being developed wiith E06.26 Tiny Houses.
Learn More
Featured Speakers
- Teresa Payne, Administrator, Office of Manufactured Housing, OHC
- Brian Faux, Director Office of Single Family Program Development, HUD and FHA
- Janet Thome, Founder And President, Tiny House Alliance USA
- Scott Ledford, Senior Director, ICF
Janet Thome Advocated For The Reinstatement Of ASTME541
Janet Thome advocated for the reinstatement of ASTME541 in response to the growing concern that ”big box” certification companies were swallowing up smaller 3rd party agencies, and closing the window for new 3rd party agencies to form new companies. They were also adding more and more requirements, which add more costs that ultimately end up adding to the costs to the 3rd parties, the manufacturers and to housing.
This is a great win for small manufacturers and for affordable housing
Janet Thome Introduced Tiny Home Hand Up To The Institute Of Justice For Their First Tiny Home Case
Press Release CALHOUN, Ga.—Your home is your castle. But in cities and towns throughout Georgia, the kind of home you are allowed to buy is limited not just by the price tag but by something unexpected: the government. Tiny House Hand Up (THHU), a Calhoun nonprofit that wants to use donated land to fill a niche for smaller, less costly homes, has been blocked by the town despite demand for these homes. Why? Not because the proposed homes fail any health or safety standard, but simply because they are smaller than the government wants. Yesterday, Tiny House Hand Up, represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), submitted a lawsuit to the Superior Court for Gordon County challenging Calhoun’s arbitrary restriction for violating the Georgia Constitution.
“There is no health or safety reason to ban smaller homes,” said IJ Senior Attorney Erica Smith Ewing. “People around the country live in smaller homes without any issues, even in Calhoun in homes built before the ban.”
All they need to start building is for the government to get out of the way. After Tiny House Alliance USA connected THHU to IJ, they started working to make that happen.
Update: August 7, 2025 : Institute For Justice Wins Tiny House Victory In Calhoun, Ga.
Incredible breaking news! This took almost four years! We are so grateful for the Institute For Justice that is working on behalf of the tiny house industry!
CALHOUN, Georgia—Today, Tiny House Hand Up (THHU) won an important legal victory in their challenge to the city of Calhoun’s ban on building homes smaller than 1,150 square feet. THHU is a Calhoun nonprofit that wants to use donated land to fill a niche for smaller, less costly homes After the Institute for Justice (IJ) argued on their behalf, the judge ruled from the bench, granting a motion in THHU’s favor. A written order will be coming in the next few weeks.
“This is not just a win for our clients, it’s a win for the people of Calhoun,” said IJ Attorney Joe Gay. “The city spent years telling Tiny House Hand Up that they can’t build modest cottages on their property. We are thrilled to finally have their constitutional rights vindicated in court.”
“Small homes offer flexibility for people who might not be able to afford larger homes or who just prefer to downsize,” said IJ Senior Attorney Dan Alban. “Imposing arbitrary limits on home size makes no sense and violates the Georgia Constitution.”
Affordable housing is one of most pressing economic issues facing Americans today, with soaring prices keeping people from obtaining the American dream of housing independence. Even some people with a steady job but modest income are unable to afford housing in today’s economy. Between 2020 and 2024 the media house price in Georgia rose from $248,900 to $381,100 according to Houzeo.
Tiny House Industry Experience
Janet Thome sponsored the relaunching of THIA’s online presence in 2019. She served on the board as the THIA Industry Liaison and Media Coordinator from June 2019 to Oct 2020. She remains a dedicated advocate for tiny homes.
Tiny Portable Cedar Cabins : 2014 To 2025
Janet Thome was the founder of Tiny Portable Cedar Cabins. Janet was a tiny home sales consultant, representing builders across the country to fulfill the needs of clients that want to go tiny or looking for a community or a legal place to live.
Janet loves to connect the consumer with their design choices, where to live legally, insurance, financing, grants, and most of all, a customer’s dream of owning a tiny home. Janet has a small tiny home village called the Hearthouse Tiny Village in Washington state and LOVES dogs. Janet is also a wordsmith and singer and wrote and sang an original song called I Want To Lift 1000 Souls .
Tiny House Alliance USA Editor
Janet Thome is the primary editor of Tiny House Alliance USA.
ja***@******************sa.org
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