Tiny home deregulation bill fails in Arizona House — for now
The Arizona House of Representatives voted down legislation that would have stopped smaller counties from regulating the safety of tiny homes.
House Bill 2096 would have banned counties from requiring a building inspection or permit when someone wants to build a tiny home. The prohibition would have applied to dwellings of 600 square feet or less built on rural land in counties with less than 500,000 people.
The bill failed in the House after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.
Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix), who voted against the bill, said he shared concerns held by the County Supervisors Association of Arizona that the bill would result in Arizonans living in unsafe conditions.
“In lieu of an inspection, owners would file an affidavit that essentially says,' I hold all entities free from liability if this house falls in on me,'” Gress said. “I don’t know if that is the best public policy to have in a state.”
Building tiny homes in smaller counties
Rep. Barbara Parker (R-Mesa), who sponsored the bill, told fellow lawmakers that the tiny homes described in her proposal are “a common product,” and that several counties in Arizona have already fast-tracked tiny home building.
That includes Cochise, Coconino and Pima counties, which have all passed ordinances easing regulations on tiny homes, and Greenlee County — which has no residential building codes at all.
“I think there’s been a lot of misconceptions given by the County Supervisors Association on the safety of this,” Parker said. “I have spoken with them at length, and there is not one example of any product like this in Cochise, in Greenlee, in Coconino or in Pima that has ever had a safety concern of any kind.”
She said her bill does include building standards property owners must follow.
Proposal included standards, affidavit
The bill would require a property owner to sign an affidavit affirming “the structure was built in substantial conformity with the county’s building codes or a widely recognized standard for tiny home construction.” That language is similar to Coconino County’s tiny home rules, which requires owners to provide documentation that the home was built to “some kind of code or standard” or submit to a special inspection by the county.
The affidavit would also require the property owner to release all counties, local municipalities and state agencies from liability if they are injured in the home.
But Gress said he still has concerns that, even if the original property owner signs an affidavit, they could eventually sell to a new owner. The bill would only prohibit the owner from selling the property for 12 months after construction is complete.
“Will they know that you filed an affidavit waiving liability?” Gress said.
The House could take a second look at the bill in the future following a successful motion to reconsider by Rep. Teresa Martinez (R-Casa Grande).
