CS/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 the definition of the term 3
"park trailer"; defining the term "movable tiny home"; 4
creating s. 320.8201, F.S.; providing requirements for 5
construction and inspection of a movable tiny home; 6
requiring a movable tiny home to have a sticker or 7
other documentation certifying compliance therewith; 8
amending s. 553.73, F.S.; requiring the Flori da 9
Building Commission to review updates to certain codes 10
which pertain to requirements for movable tiny homes; 11
providing an effective date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
15
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and subsection 16
(4) of section 320.01, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 17
320.01 Definitions, general. —As used in the Florida 18
Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term: 19
(1) "Motor vehicle" means: 20
(b) A recreational vehicle -type unit primarily d esigned as 21
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel 22
use, which either has its own motive power or is mounted on or 23
drawn by another vehicle. Recreational vehicle -type units, when 24
traveling on the public roadways of this state, must co mply with 25
CS/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
the length and width provisions of s. 316.515 , as that section 26
may hereafter be amended . As defined below, the basic entities 27
are: 28
1. The "travel trailer," which is a vehicular portable 29
unit, mounted on wheels, of such a size or weight as not t o 30
require special highway movement permits when drawn by a 31
motorized vehicle. It is primarily designed and constructed to 32
provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or 33
travel use. It has a body width of no more than 8 1/2 feet and 34
an overall body length of no more than 40 feet when factory -35
equipped for the road. 36
2. The "camping trailer," which is a vehicular portable 37
unit mounted on wheels and constructed with collapsible partial 38
sidewalls which fold for towing by another vehicle and unf old at 39
the campsite to provide temporary living quarters for 40
recreational, camping, or travel use. 41
3. The "truck camper," which is a truck equipped with a 42
portable unit designed to be loaded onto, or affixed to, the bed 43
or chassis of the truck and constr ucted to provide temporary 44
living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel use. 45
4. The "motor home," which is a vehicular unit which does 46
not exceed the length, height, and width limitations provided in 47
s. 316.515, is a self -propelled motor vehicle, and is primarily 48
designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, 49
camping, or travel use. 50
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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
5. The "private motor coach," which is a vehicular unit 51
which does not exceed the length, width, and height limitations 52
provided in s. 316.515(9), i s built on a self-propelled bus type 53
chassis having no fewer than three load -bearing axles, and is 54
primarily designed to provide temporary living quarters for 55
recreational, camping, or travel use. 56
6. The "van conversion," which is a vehicular unit which 57
does not exceed the length and width limitations provided in s. 58
316.515, is built on a self -propelled motor vehicle chassis, and 59
is designed for recreation, camping, and travel use. 60
7. The "park trailer," which is a transportable unit that 61
which has a body width not exceeding 14 feet and that which is 62
built on a single chassis and is designed to provide seasonal or 63
temporary living quarters when connected to utilities necessary 64
for operation of installed fixtures and appliances. The total 65
area of such the unit may in a setup mode, when measured from 66
the exterior surface of the exterior stud walls at the level of 67
maximum dimensions, not including any bay window, does not 68
exceed 400 square feet when constructed to ANSI A -119.5 69
standards, and 500 square feet when constructed to United States 70
Department of Housing and Urban Development Standards. The 71
length of a park trailer means the distance from the exterior of 72
the front of the body (nearest to the drawbar and coupling 73
mechanism) to the exterior of the rear of the body (at the 74
opposite end of the body), including any protrusions. 75
CS/HB 557 2024
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8. The "fifth-wheel trailer," which is a vehicular unit 76
mounted on wheels, designed to provide temporary living quarters 77
for recreational, camping, or travel use, of such size or w eight 78
as not to require a special highway movement permit, of gross 79
trailer area not to exceed 400 square feet in the setup mode, 80
and designed to be towed by a motorized vehicle that contains a 81
towing mechanism that is mounted above or forward of the tow 82
vehicle's rear axle. 83
(4)(a) "Trailer" means any vehicle without motive power 84
designed to be coupled to or drawn by a motor vehicle and 85
constructed so that no part of its weight or that of its load 86
rests upon the towing vehicle. 87
(b) "Movable tiny home" means a trailer with a house 88
affixed to a single chassis which is a transportable unit that 89
has a body width not exceeding 14 feet and is designed to 90
provide permanent living quarters for no more than one household 91
when connected to utilities necessary for operation of installed 92
fixtures and appliances. The total area of the unit in a setup 93
mode, when measured from the exterior surface of the exterior 94
stud walls at the level of maximum dimensions, not including any 95
bay window, does not exceed 500 square feet when constructed to 96
standards specified in s. 320.8201. The length of a movable tiny 97
home means the distance from the exterior of the front of the 98
body (nearest to the drawbar and coupling mechanism) to the 99
exterior of the rear o f the body (at the opposite end of the 100
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body), including any protrusions. 101
Section 2. Section 320.8201, Florida Statutes, is created 102
to read: 103
320.8201 Movable tiny homes; construction and inspection. — 104
A movable tiny home as defined in s. 320.01(4)(b) m ust be 105
constructed and inspected in accordance with the Florida 106
Building Code and must have a sticker or other documentation 107
certifying that the movable tiny home was inspected and 108
certified for compliance with the Florida Building Code by a 109
professional engineer or architect licensed in this state or by 110
a third-party inspector who is qualified to inspect for 111
compliance with the Florida Building Code. 112
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 113
553.73, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 114
553.73 Florida Building Code. — 115
(7)(a) The commission shall adopt an updated Florida 116
Building Code every 3 years through review of the most current 117
updates of the International Building Code, the International 118
Fuel Gas Code, the International Existing Buil ding Code, the 119
International Mechanical Code, the International Plumbing Code, 120
and the International Residential Code, all of which are 121
copyrighted and published by the International Code Council, and 122
the National Electrical Code, which is copyrighted and published 123
by the National Fire Protection Association. At a minimum, the 124
commission shall adopt any updates to such codes or any other 125
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code necessary to maintain eligibility for federal funding and 126
discounts from the National Flood Insurance Program, the F ederal 127
Emergency Management Agency, and the United States Department of 128
Housing and Urban Development. The commission shall also review 129
any updates to such codes which pertain to requirements for 130
movable tiny homes. The commission shall also review and ado pt 131
updates based on the International Energy Conservation Code 132
(IECC); however, the commission shall maintain the efficiencies 133
of the Florida Energy Efficiency Code for Building Construction 134
adopted and amended pursuant to s. 553.901. Every 3 years, the 135
commission may approve updates to the Florida Building Code 136
without a finding that the updates are needed in order to 137
accommodate the specific needs of this state. The commission 138
shall adopt updated codes by rule. 139
Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024. 140