Building permits, zoning and septic rules in unincorporated Tehama County, California

Tehama County Building & Safety processes building permits for houses and related residential construction in unincorporated Tehama County¹. Inside Red Bluff, city approval governs building permits; inside the City of Tehama, the county Building Department issues building permits under city-adopted codes^9,10. The county septic-permit rule below applies to unincorporated land; Red Bluff separately authorizes city onsite-sewage regulations^3,11. Tehama County lists Ordinance #2150 adopting the 2025 building-code cycle¹². The published plot-plan review fee is $101.00, with other fees depending on the application¹³. Building-permit applications expire after 180 days; issued building permits generally require final inspection approval and any required certificate of occupancy within two years, subject to code exceptions^1,14. California's owner-builder exemption concerns contractor licensure, while the owner remains responsible for building permits and inspections; personally performed work or work by wage-paid employees must not be intended for sale, and owners cannot do well-drilling work themselves⁶.

The Tehama County Building & Safety Department, at 444 Oak Street, Room H in Red Bluff, reviews plans, issues building permits and inspects construction in unincorporated Tehama County¹. Call (530) 527-7002, or apply online through the county's permitting portal at tehamacountyca.viewpointcloud.com¹. If you are building a house, have an approved plot plan, a complete set of building plans, energy calculations, truss calculations, a modified soils test, structural calculations if applicable, solar plans and a Manual J report, and a flood elevation certificate if applicable ready when you apply¹. After the building permit issues, required inspections include the foundation, underfloor, roof sheathing and framing stages, plus County Fire, County Road/CalTrans and Environmental Health clearances before the final inspection¹⁴.

Tehama County zoning applies to unincorporated land; Red Bluff, Corning and the City of Tehama have city zoning^2,15,16,17. Tehama County Environmental Health handles septic permits in the unincorporated area³. County residential minimum lot areas are 10,500 square feet in RE, 5,000 in R-1 and 6,000 in R-2 through R-4, with 60-foot width required in R-1 through R-4; B combining-district designations can change lot-area requirements⁴. R-1 through R-4 list 20-foot front and rear setbacks and 6-foot side setbacks; RE lists the same distances but has an unresolved front-setback qualification, so ask Planning before siting an RE home^4,18,19. Maximum height is 35 feet in RE through R-3 and 65 feet in R-4, with stricter H combining-district limits prevailing²⁰. Maximum lot coverage ranges from 40% in RE and R-1 to 60% in R-4⁴. PD use permits and specific plans can set different standards; call Planning at (530) 527-2200 with the address or APN^18,19. Tehama County has no formally codified minimum dwelling size but typically applies 350 square feet⁴.

Tehama County Environmental Health requires a permit before anyone builds, repairs or alters an onsite sewage system in unincorporated Tehama County³. Starting work without that permit generally triggers triple the permit fee if the work is later approved, and the installer must keep the permit onsite throughout construction or repair³. Reach Environmental Health at (530) 527-8020, 633 Washington Street, Room 36, Red Bluff²¹. Public sewer may be considered unavailable when it is more than 200 feet from the proposed building on an abutting lot or premises³. Only 1.9% of Tehama County soils rate free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so obtain a site evaluation before assuming a standard system will work⁸. Connection to an available public sewer generally takes precedence over a new septic system, with limited exceptions for certain existing dwellings or accessory structures; inadequate lot area or soils can stop both septic and building permits unless engineering and test data support reevaluation³. Cesspools are not authorized and must be replaced when discovered through specified county processes³.

Under California's default rule, an RV is not meant for permanent occupancy and, unless a local ordinance says otherwise, may be occupied only in a mobilehome park or special occupancy park²². We could not confirm a general Tehama County rule for temporary camping on private land, so ask Planning about the parcel and proposed duration¹⁹. A tiny home must qualify as an approved housing type, such as a code-compliant dwelling, manufactured home, factory-built home, RV or park trailer; otherwise it cannot legally be occupied²². A temporary Park Fire ordinance allows a displaced resident one RV, movable tiny house or qualifying manufactured home per premises, subject to permits, utilities, owner consent and setbacks²³. The county cannot permit installation of a manufactured home made before 2014 under that exception, which expires three years after its effective date unless extended or changed²³. An accessory dwelling unit is a legal route to a second home: a single-family residence may have up to one ADU and one junior ADU, the Planning Department must verify the property allows one, and every ADU needs a building permit; short-term vacation rentals of less than 31 days and mobile homes do not qualify as ADUs²⁴.

1. Call the Planning Department at (530) 527-2200 with your property address or APN to confirm the zoning district, permitted use, setbacks, lot coverage and any combining district before you design or site a home¹⁹.
2. If you will divide the land, take the concept to Planning first because land divisions undergo county and state map review; subdivisions creating parcels under one acre generally require community sewer service⁵.
3. Gather the approved plot plan, complete building plans, energy and truss calculations, soils test, any required structural calculations, solar plans, Manual J report and any required flood elevation certificate, then apply online or at Building & Safety¹.
4. Apply to Tehama County Environmental Health for an OWTS permit if the site will not connect to public sewer^3,21.
5. If the driveway enters a state highway right of way, obtain a Caltrans encroachment permit²⁵.
6. After the building permit issues, schedule each required inspection and obtain the county clearances before final inspection¹⁴.

Lot splits: unincorporated Tehama County generally requires a tentative major-subdivision map for five or more lots; a minor parcel map can create up to four lots plus a remainder only when the remainder is not intended for sale, lease or financing⁵. Subdivisions creating parcels under one acre require community sanitary sewer service and a public operating entity unless the approving authority grants a waiver after consulting the Regional Water Quality Control Board; seepage pits are unsuitable for newly created lots⁵. Water: California requires local well permits before construction, modification or destruction and a licensed well-drilling contractor²⁶. Tehama County separately regulates groundwater extraction for off-parcel use, with an exception for contiguous parcels under the same ownership; ask Environmental Health how the groundwater and well-construction approvals apply to your project^21,27. Flood: floodway development requires an engineer's certification of no increase in base flood elevation²⁸. Rentals: unincorporated Tehama County requires a Short-Term Rental permit and charges 8% transient occupancy tax on stays of 30 days or less²⁹. Taxes: the effective property tax rate is about 0.6%, with a median annual bill near $1,996⁸.