Latest updates

New tiny house guidance released

New tiny house guidance has been developed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

MBIE has developed the Tiny House guidance in consultation with a tiny house stakeholder group to support a consistent approach to issuing building consents for tiny houses across each region of New Zealand.

Tiny houses need to be safe, healthy and durable for their intended use. As building regulator, MBIE aims to ensure that all building work in New Zealand meets these requirements.

This guidance provides detail on these definitions along with considerations to help determine if a tiny house is a building or a vehicle, or both a building and a vehicle, and which relevant laws they need to comply with.

No legislative or regulatory changes have been made regarding tiny houses. This guidance has been created to help people understand the current requirements for tiny houses.

Please see the Tiny House Guidance for the Building Act 2004 on the Building Performance website.

Notification date: 1 November 2021