What are the tiny house laws in Michigan?

A tiny house intended as your Michigan home must meet the applicable residential construction rules¹. Local zoning sets the district rules for your site². Your zoning authority can be a county, township, city or village, so find out which one covers your parcel².

Michigan building-code enforcement can fall to the state, county or another local government⁷. LARA directs you to its Statewide Jurisdiction List before you apply for a building permit⁷. Use that list to find your building office, then ask the zoning office about your planned home and location^2,7. For help finding your building-permit authority, call or email LARA's Building Trades Section using the details below⁷.

We could not confirm a single statewide minimum total floor area for a Michigan home¹. Ask your building official which residential-code rules apply to your design¹. Ask your local zoning office separately about minimum home size, width and the district where you want to build².

Michigan's exemption for a one-story detached accessory structure covers floor areas no greater than 200 square feet⁸. That exemption does not allow work that violates the code or local ordinances⁸. You cannot use the accessory-structure threshold as permission to live in a shed⁸. Changing a structure's use or occupancy also needs a building permit⁹.

For a Michigan home's septic permits and inspections, you need the local health department serving your property⁵. EGLE coordinates Michigan's onsite-wastewater program, but your local health department handles septic approval for a home⁵. For program questions, ask EGLE's Onsite Wastewater Management Unit or your local health department¹⁰.

Michigan plumbing rules require a public sewer connection where available, or an approved private sewage-disposal system otherwise¹¹. Going off grid does not allow you to discharge untreated wastewater from toilets, sinks or showers¹². Before you drill a well, county ordinances call for a local health department permit or notification¹³. Ask that department which requirement applies before you commit to a water supply¹³.

Michigan has no uniform statewide building-permit price; your enforcing agency sets the fee⁴. Ask that agency what you will pay for building permits and any separate plumbing or electrical permits for your design⁴. Michigan's owner-builder licensing exemption can cover a home built for your own use on your own property¹⁴. You still need to meet building-permit, inspection, code and zoning requirements under that exemption¹⁴.

Take a site plan and scaled construction plans to the appropriate enforcing agency before you build¹⁵. Settle the zoning question and sewage-disposal approval before you spend money on a particular tiny-house design^2,11. Inspections check permitted construction for compliance with the code and permit¹⁶. You cannot occupy a new or altered building until the code official issues a certificate of occupancy⁶.