Sacramento Moves Toward Legalizing Tiny Homes on Wheels in Backyards

Sacramento, CA, is weighing a proposal to allow residents to live in tiny cottages on wheels parked in residential backyards as a way to ease the metro's housing affordability crisis.

These compact, budget-friendly homes typically range from 150 to 400 square feet and are mounted atop a towable trailer with wheels. They feature full living amenities—including a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen—and are permanently hooked up to utilities.

Notably, the movable dwellings are distinct from recreational vehicles (RVs) and traditional accessory dwelling units (ADUs), offering a higher level of craftsmanship and a different legal classification designed for long-term habitation rather than travel.

But supporters of alternative housing say cottages on wheels could also be the answer to Sacramento's homelessness problem. 

"It's going to make a massive dent to people who are struggling right at the edge of being able to afford a place or end up homeless," Varun Arora, a board member of the advocacy group House Sacramento, recently told CBS Sacramento. 

The median listing price in Sacramento was over $621,000 in March, more than $200,000 higher than the national figure, according to the latest Realtor.com® monthly housing market trends report. 

For comparison, a typical cottage on wheels costs less than $200,000, or a third of Sacramento's median asking price. 

"This is the fastest, least expensive way to build housing," City of Sacramento Urban Design Manager Bruce Monighan said during last week’s meeting of the Planning and Design Commission. The meeting featured a discussion of a preliminary framework for regulating cottages on wheels. 

Multiple city leaders voiced strong support for adding movable cottages to Sacramento neighborhoods. 

"This can be a really good opportunity for someone to access housing in an affordable housing option," said Sacramento Planning and Design Commissioner Julio Lamas.

Movable cottages are already licensed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, but Sacramento currently prohibits people from living in them full time, unless the dwellings are stationed in a designated mobile home park. 

A proposed ordinance currently being considered by the commission would authorize wheeled cottage owners to keep their tiny homes in backyards and on vacant land zoned for single-family or duplex residential use. 

Other California jurisdictions, including the cities of West Sacramento and San Diego, as well as Placer and Nevada counties, already have ordinances on the books allowing cottages on wheels. 

Robyn Davis, a tiny-home advocate, has lived in a nonstationary cottage parked on a plot of land she owns in West Sacramento since 2017, CBS Sacramento previously reported.

At the start of her tenure, Davis faced code enforcement fines because she had no permit and her home was not connected to utilities. 

When West Sacramento passed an ordinance last year legalizing cottages on wheels, Davis was among the first to obtain a permit. 

"This was an affordable option for me, and hopefully, for others," she said during Thursday's planning commission meeting.

The Sacramento City Council is scheduled to take a vote on mobile cottages this summer. 

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