Minimum House Size by State 2023

Around the country, communities are growing and developing at a rapid pace. This is especially true in the suburbs surrounding large and rapidly-growing cities. Unfortunately, people want to live within proximity to the city center without the extreme housing costs.

Given this, communities are increasingly imposing larger minimum lot sizes and area requirements, especially in residential communities. Zoning ordinances, building and housing codes, and subdivision regulations are being imposed in these areas to preserve the semi-rural living attributes such as scattered homes, adequate space, and low-density housing. The motivations for doing so could include preserving the community's health and safety, including concerns about fire, noise, circulation of air, and pollution. Some believe that such regulations are imposed because the wealthy want to exclude less wealthy groups from their communities.

Communities have the power to regulate the density of their neighborhoods indirectly through provisions such as minimum lot area per family; lot dimensions, frontage, depth, and yards; and type of structure.

Most states have adopted building and zoning codes from the International Residential Code (IRC). The IRC codes require that all homes must be built on a minimum of 320 square feet. The minimum square footage for a house is 120 square feet, and at least one room must be habitable. Habitable rooms meet other regulations, such as needing a closet and at least one window. Other rooms, not meant for sleeping, must be at least 70 square feet. Bathrooms and kitchens do not have minimum floor spaces; however, all rooms must have ceiling heights of at least seven to eight feet tall. Minimum house sizes, however, vary greatly between states, towns, and counties. Some areas require new homes to have a minimum of 1000 square feet.

In addition to growing communities, "tiny homes" have become increasingly popular and are difficult to construct and permanently reside in due to local government building and zoning requirements. There are two types of tiny homes: tiny homes on wheels considered to be RVs (recreation vehicles) and tiny homes on foundations considered to be accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Tiny homes registered as RVs do not need to deal with zoning or building code concerns and will only need a place to legally park them.

Because of these homes' extremely small and minimalist design, many states have to adjust regulations to include the new trend.

All tiny homes have two important factors to consider: building codes and zoning regulations. Building codes include a minimum ceiling height of 6 feet 8 inches for common areas (6 feet 4 inches in bathrooms), one separate bathroom, enough windows to meet the emergency exit requirements, and a ladder or stairs to reach the loft.

As previously mentioned, some states have adopted the IRC code; however, some counties, towns, and neighborhoods have adopted their own regulations. When building a home, one should always check with their local jurisdiction to determine the minimum specifications. Some places have no minimum size restrictions.