What's the Minimum Lot Size to Build a House (You'll Be Surprised!)

When comparing tiny houses to traditional ones, they usually have smaller square footage, especially the general size of the home. For tiny houses, it usually averages to about 150 square feets.

For houses, what is the minimum square footage?

The zoning regulations require that for a house, the minimum square footage must be 120 square feet and it’s minimum plot size needs to be 320 square feet.

There are additional regulations required for tiny houses and traditional homes. For those that may be looking to make the change to purchase a tiny house or downsize to a smaller traditional home, we’ll explain everything in this article.

Size Regulations for Houses

Besides the square footage of 120, there are other requirements and factors that come into play. Every home needs certain requirements. For instance, your room needs a closet to store clothes and other things. Don’t worry, the style and size of the closet doesn’t matter.

Another factor to consider if a room is worthwhile is the window.

The size or style of the window won’t matter as well.

Basements are a good choice for living space because it has even the tiniest of windows to make things bearable for living.

Homes with Multiple Rooms

Most homes that have multiple rooms tend to have a size larger than the minimum requirement. The minimum square footage for studio homes are 120 feet. For homes with multiple rooms, you would need each livable room to have a square footage of 120.

Any room designed for sleeping cannot fall below 70 square feet. This means if you have a bedroom house with a living room, the total cannot fall below 310 square feet. The more rooms your home has, the higher the minimum size requirement will be.

Rooms with No Requirement

You’ll be surpsied to know that there are some rooms with no requirements. This would include rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms since they are not livable spaces.

However, you should note that although there isn’t a minimum requirement for floor space, there is a requirement for room height.

There is a room height requirement of 7 to 8 feet. This is to ensure that most adults have a safe clearance. Although many rooms can vary in the floor spacing, they should not vary in height.

I mean, you will almost never find rooms with varying levels of height.

Regulations for Land Size

Every good house is dependent on the land it’s built on. Even though the minimum square footage is 120, the lot requirement will need to be much bigger. You’ll need a much larger space besides the house that you’re going to build.

Even for folks who are looking to downsize their home, they still want a sizable yard space.

In most homes the yard is the extension of a house. The yard and outdoor area becomes an excellent spot for entertaining guests and family dinners.

So with that being said, what is the minimum requirement for plot size if you’re planning to build a home? The minimum plot size is regulated to be at least 320 square feet. Since the house needs to have a square footage of 120, this means you have 200 square feet left to build your outdoor space.

Even though the minimum land size must be 320, there are other things you need to account for. You need to factor in the type of outdoor space you are looking for. If you want an outdoor space with room in the front and the back of your home, the required space increases.

Houses that want to extend the outdoor space need to have a minimum of at least 900 square feet. The reason is because the house needs enough clearance on all four sides surrounding it.

What about the Land Size for Tiny Houses

For regulations, there is still a lot of unknown due to the fact that tiny homes are not federally regulated unlike traditional houses.

Each state has their own guidelines in regards to tiny houses.

Depeding on where you live, some states are more generous about spacing regulations than others.

Despite the uncertainty, there is a sneaky loophole for building tiny houses that work for most states. You can do so by listingthe tiny homes as a government approved scheme.

Typically this regulation is allowed for low-income homes and government housing.

There has been an uproar of tiny home communities that are being advertised as alternative cheaper options. You can find these tiny houses everywhere ranging from Seattle to Detroit.

However, what’s the requirement in terms of square feet for plot size for these types of living spaces? Most government regulations have stated that the requirement for plot size is to be at least 30 square meters and cannot exceed 65 square meters.

This range allows for a sizable range to build the right tiny house. The government regulation also applies to other typs of non-traditional homes such as converted trailers and RV’s.

Which Cities Do Not Have a Home Size Requirement?

Choosing the right best place to live may be difficult because you have to cooperate with the laws and regulations. However, there is another possibility to get around to what you want.

There are a few loopholes that give you the ability to live in tiny homes.

You’ll be shocked about how easy this really is.

There are mnay cities around the country that don’t have a regulation on the miniize size needed for building a house. The following cities don’t have a minimze size for houses:

• Philadelphia, PA
• Spur, TX
• Knoxville, TN
• Newfield, NY
• Union Mills, NC
• Sarasota, FL

Does this mean you can build your house to be any size you’d want?

The answer is no.

You do have more flexibility in regards to size, there are a few things you need to know.

These areas have sanctioned the communities to have power in how the homes need to be structured. These community based programs such as the Homeowner’s Association have the power to enforce regulations such as plot and building size.

It doesn’t conclude that you aren’t able to have a house smaller than the normal 120 square feet requirement. You would just need to gain the approval from the specified community based program before the planning phase begins.

The homeowner’s association has the power to approve or disapporve your proposal.

Other Things to Consider

Even if you can build the smallest houses in these specified cities, you still need to be within their guidelines. The guidelines are nearly the same as the ones of traditional houses.

For example, the size of the livable rooms are similar.

Livable rooms need to be at least 70 square feet for floor spacing. For houses with one bedroom, that size takes up half the total space.

This is taking into account that you’d want your home to meet the minimum of 120 square feet.

The room that isn’t as regulated or enforced is the kitchen. Kitchens can generally come in varying sizes and styles. Since the space is limited, your kitchen could be multi-purpose.

Your kitchen can double up and be a workspace or an eat-in style kitchen.

Final Thoughts

Why should you know the minimum requirements for a home and land? By having this information you can decide what house you want and do a better job structuring and planning. From there you can work with subcontractors to begin building out your home.

It’s very common to see people trade away their gigantic houses for more smaller homes.

This will help reduce stress and the environment as well. This causes less waste and a more eco-friendly living environment. Not to mention the money you save because you don’t have to fund a large house anymore. As the popularity of downsizing grows, living in a big popular lavished home will no longer be a thing. Right now the minimum size is 120 square feet, however that could change next year!