International Code Council and THIA Seek Interested Parties for New Off-Site Construction Standard

The International Code Council and the Tiny Home Industry Association (THIA) are seeking volunteers to participate as interested parties in the development of the new standard ICC/THIA 1215-202x Design, Construction, Inspection and Regulation of Tiny Houses for Permanent Occupancy.

This standard will address minimum requirements for the design, construction, inspection, certification and regulatory compliance of tiny houses used for permanent occupancy (with or without wheels) to assure public safety, sustainability and resilience.

ICC/THIA Standard 1215 will be part of an off-site construction portfolio of standards including:

• ICC/MBI 1200-2021: Standard for Off-Site Construction: Planning, Design, Fabrication and Assembly
• ICC/MBI 1205-2021: Standard for Off-Site Construction: Inspection and Regulatory Compliance
• ICC/MBI 1210-2023: Standard for Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Systems, Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation in Off-site Construction

The standard will also complement a suite of materials developed by the Code Council and THIA to support the effective deployment of tiny houses. Resources, including model legislation and a primer on Navigating Certification and Regulation for Tiny Houses, are available here.

ICC/THIA Standard 1215 will be based on existing requirements contained in the 2021 International Residential Code® (IRC), including Appendix AQ and ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 where applicable, and will continue to be published in the IRC as Appendix AQ, as well as a standalone resource.  

As a standard, the criteria outlined in these documents will be more readily adoptable internationally and in jurisdictions that do not use the IRC as its base code. 

Get Involved in the Code Council’s Standard Development Process

The appointed Off-Site Construction Tiny Houses Standard Consensus Committee (IS-OSMTH) has convened to start the standards development process and will begin establishing working groups.

View the committee membership here. 

Volunteers who participate as interested parties will support the standards development process through participation in working groups, established by the IS-OSMTH, as non-voting members.  

These working groups play a pivotal role in Code Council committees, they are typically assigned areas of study by the main committee and are charged with investigating, reporting and developing work products for the OSMTH. Each OSMTH work group effort is governed by a committee-approved scope.

Interested parties willing to participate should contact Karl Aittaniemi, IS-OSMEP Staff Secretariat, at kaittaniemi@iccsafe.org to be placed on the interested party list. No application is required and Code Council membership is not required.

To learn more about the Code Council’s off-site construction standards committees, please visit here.