HB 557 2024
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to movable tiny homes; amending s. 2
320.01, F.S.; revising definitions; providing that a 3
park trailer may be used as permanent living quarters 4
under certain circumstances; providing that such a 5
park trailer may be referred to as a "movable tiny 6
home"; amending s. 320.822, F.S.; revising the 7
definition of the term "code"; amending s. 320.8231, 8
F.S.; providing requirements for construction and 9
inspection of a movable tiny home; requiring a movable 10
tiny home to have a sticker or other documentation 11
certifying compliance therewith; amending s. 553.73, 12
F.S.; requiring the Florida Building Commission to 13
review and adopt updates to certain codes which 14
pertain to the superstructure requirements for movable 15
tiny homes; providing an effective date. 16
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
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Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 20
320.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 21
320.01 Definitions, general. —As used in the Florida 22
Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term: 23
(1) "Motor vehicle" means: 24
(b) A recreational vehicle -type unit primarily designed as 25
HB 557 2024
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temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel 26
use, or designed to be used as provided in sub -sub-subparagraph 27
7.a.(II), which either has its own motive power or is mounted on 28
or drawn by another vehicle. Recreational vehicle -type units, 29
when traveling on the public roadways of this state, must comply 30
with the length and width provisions of s. 316.515 , as that 31
section may hereafter be amended . As defined below, the basic 32
entities are: 33
1. The "travel trailer," which is a vehicular portable 34
unit, mounted on wheels, of such a size or weight as not to 35
require special highway movement permits when drawn by a 36
motorized vehicle. It is primarily designed and constructed to 37
provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or 38
travel use. It has a body width of no more than 8 1/2 feet and 39
an overall body length of no more than 40 feet when factory -40
equipped for the road. 41
2. The "camping trailer," which is a vehicular portable 42
unit mounted on wheels and constructed with collapsible partial 43
sidewalls which fold for towing by another vehicle and u nfold at 44
the campsite to provide temporary living quarters for 45
recreational, camping, or travel use. 46
3. The "truck camper," which is a truck equipped with a 47
portable unit designed to be loaded onto, or affixed to, the bed 48
or chassis of the truck and cons tructed to provide temporary 49
living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel use. 50
HB 557 2024
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4. The "motor home," which is a vehicular unit which does 51
not exceed the length, height, and width limitations provided in 52
s. 316.515, is a self -propelled motor vehicl e, and is primarily 53
designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, 54
camping, or travel use. 55
5. The "private motor coach," which is a vehicular unit 56
which does not exceed the length, width, and height limitations 57
provided in s. 316.515(9), is built on a self-propelled bus type 58
chassis having no fewer than three load -bearing axles, and is 59
primarily designed to provide temporary living quarters for 60
recreational, camping, or travel use. 61
6. The "van conversion," which is a vehicular unit whic h 62
does not exceed the length and width limitations provided in s. 63
316.515, is built on a self -propelled motor vehicle chassis, and 64
is designed for recreation, camping, and travel use. 65
7.a. The "park trailer," which is a transportable unit 66
that which has a body width not exceeding 14 feet and that which 67
is built on a single chassis and is : 68
(I) Designed to provide seasonal or temporary living 69
quarters when connected to utilities necessary for operation of 70
installed fixtures and appliances. The total area of such the 71
unit may in a setup mode, when measured from the exterior 72
surface of the exterior stud walls at the level of maximum 73
dimensions, not including any bay window, does not exceed 400 74
square feet when constructed to ANSI A -119.5 standards, and 500 75
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square feet when constructed to United States Department of 76
Housing and Urban Development Standards ; or 77
(II) Used as permanent living quarters for no more than 78
one household when connected to utilities necessary for 79
operation of installed fixtures and appliances. The total area 80
of such unit may not exceed 400 square feet when constructed to 81
standards specified in s. 320.8231(3), and 500 square feet when 82
constructed to United States Department of Housing and Urban 83
Development Standards. A park trailer un der this sub-sub-84
subparagraph may be referred to as a "movable tiny home." 85
b. The total area of a park trailer is measured from the 86
exterior surface of the exterior stud walls at the level of 87
maximum dimensions, not including any bay window, when the uni t 88
is in setup mode. The length of a park trailer means the 89
distance from the exterior of the front of the body (nearest to 90
the drawbar and coupling mechanism) to the exterior of the rear 91
of the body (at the opposite end of the body), including any 92
protrusions. 93
8. The "fifth-wheel trailer," which is a vehicular unit 94
mounted on wheels, designed to provide temporary living quarters 95
for recreational, camping, or travel use, of such size or weight 96
as not to require a special highway movement permit, of gross 97
trailer area not to exceed 400 square feet in the setup mode, 98
and designed to be towed by a motorized vehicle that contains a 99
towing mechanism that is mounted above or forward of the tow 100
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vehicle's rear axle. 101
Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 320.822, Florida 102
Statutes, is amended to read: 103
320.822 Definitions; ss. 320.822 -320.862.—In construing 104
ss. 320.822-320.862, unless the context otherwise requires, the 105
following words or phrases have the following meanings: 106
(2) "Code" means the appropriate stan dards found in: 107
(a) The Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and 108
Safety Standards for single -family mobile homes, adopted 109
promulgated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development; 110
(b) The Uniform Standards Code approved by the American 111
National Standards Institute, ANSI A -119.2 for recreational 112
vehicles and ANSI A-119.5 for park trailers or the United States 113
Department of Housing and Urban Development standard for park 114
trailers certified as meeting that standard; or 115
(c) The Mobile and Manuf actured Home Repair and Remodeling 116
Code and the Used Recreational Vehicle Code ; or 117
(d) The standards provided in s. 320.8231(3) . 118
Section 3. Subsections (3) and (4) are added to section 119
320.8231, Florida Statutes, to read: 120
320.8231 Establishment of uniform standards for 121
recreational vehicle -type units and park trailers. — 122
(3) A movable tiny home described in s. 123
320.01(1)(b)7.a.(II) must be constructed and inspected in 124
accordance with the Florida Building Code. 125
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(4) A movable tiny home described i n s. 126
320.01(1)(b)7.a.(II) must have a sticker or other documentation 127
certifying that the movable tiny home was inspected and 128
certified for compliance with subsection (3) by a professional 129
engineer or architect licensed in this state or by a third -party 130
inspector who is qualified to inspect for compliance with the 131
Florida Building Code. 132
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 133
553.73, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 134
553.73 Florida Building Code. — 135
(7)(a) The commission shall adopt a n updated Florida 136
Building Code every 3 years through review of the most current 137
updates of the International Building Code, the International 138
Fuel Gas Code, the International Existing Building Code, the 139
International Mechanical Code, the International Plu mbing Code, 140
and the International Residential Code, all of which are 141
copyrighted and published by the International Code Council, and 142
the National Electrical Code, which is copyrighted and published 143
by the National Fire Protection Association. At a minimum , the 144
commission shall adopt any updates to such codes or any other 145
code necessary to maintain eligibility for federal funding and 146
discounts from the National Flood Insurance Program, the Federal 147
Emergency Management Agency, and the United States Departmen t of 148
Housing and Urban Development. The commission shall also review 149
and adopt any updates to such codes which pertain to the 150
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superstructure requirements for movable tiny homes. The 151
commission shall also review and adopt updates based on the 152
International Energy Conservation Code (IECC); however, the 153
commission shall maintain the efficiencies of the Florida Energy 154
Efficiency Code for Building Construction adopted and amended 155
pursuant to s. 553.901. Every 3 years, the commission may 156
approve updates to the Fl orida Building Code without a finding 157
that the updates are needed in order to accommodate the specific 158
needs of this state. The commission shall adopt updated codes by 159
rule. 160
Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024. 161