Is a Tiny House Legal?: The Impact of Regulatory Changes on Demolition Orders
As a direct effect of increasing urbanization, we observe that in recent times, especially in neighborhoods and villages close to city centers, people’s desire to escape from the city to the countryside and their efforts to establish living spaces for themselves have increased.
Since most of these living areas are not open to zoning and many of them have the quality of agricultural land, individuals who wish to live in these areas have naturally first encountered various sanctions, had to deal with certain bureaucratic processes, and ultimately sought solutions within the boundaries drawn by legal rules. One of the most common solutions encountered among these has been mobile homes, also known as Tiny Houses.
At precisely this point, with Presidential Decision No. 8112 published in the Official Gazette dated 18 January 2024 and numbered 32433, and with the Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities, the way for individuals to meet their accommodation needs by staying on their own land has been opened in a lawful and reasonable manner. Namely;
As we have advocated from the very beginning, Tiny Houses do not fall within the category of structures as defined by the Zoning Law. The Zoning Law defines a structure as a ‘permanent, fixed and movable facility involving underground and aboveground construction.’ Tiny Houses, on the contrary, are classified as “trailers” and qualify as “O2 class non-motorized vehicles” pursuant to Article 3 of the Highway Traffic Law and Section 20 of Subparagraph C of Article 3 of the Highway Traffic Regulation. According to the Highway Traffic Regulation, a trailer is defined as a non-motorized vehicle manufactured to transport people or cargo by being towed by a motor vehicle. Pursuant to Article 42 of the Highway Traffic Regulation, after the completion of license plate, registration certificate, and traffic registration procedures, they may be used without the need for any additional permit.
Here, we can clearly state that Tiny Houses are in fact entirely in the status of a vehicle, and that a Tiny House placed on a field/plot for accommodation purposes is no different from a parked vehicle.
From the very beginning, it is evident that in disputes brought before administrative courts, we have already been able to secure the annulment of administrative actions carried out against Tiny Houses based on existing legal regulations. Indeed, in this regard, annulment decisions have been rendered by administrative courts upon our applications, stating that “…since the aforementioned trailer does not have the nature of a fixed structure and, due to being registered in traffic, does not have the nature of a movable facility, it is understood that the trailer does not comply with the definition of a structure under Article 5 of Law No. 3194; therefore, there is no conformity with the law in the council decision subject to the lawsuit regarding the imposition of a zoning administrative fine on the plaintiff pursuant to Article 42 of the Zoning Law.”; and likewise, in investigations initiated by Public Prosecutors’ Offices against citizens using Tiny Houses, decisions of non-prosecution have been issued stating that “…in the evaluation made under Article 184/1 of the Turkish Penal Code regarding the act of the suspect placing a wheeled Tiny House on the land, since the concept of a structure is defined more broadly and not every structure qualifies as a building, and since for the crime to occur the construction must necessarily have the nature of a building, and considering that the structure subject to the allegation does not have the nature of a building when the visuals are examined, it is understood that the elements of the crime attributed to the suspect have not occurred; therefore, THERE IS NO NEED FOR PROSECUTION ON BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC…”.
However, with the regulation published on 18 January 2024, the fact that Tiny Houses have been defined in positive law for the first time and have found a place in our legislation means that both courts, when rendering decisions, and administrative authorities, when imposing sanctions, will no longer be able to ignore the existence of a definition and status.
The Regulation defines a Tiny House under the heading of mobile home as “a vehicle subject to the Highway Traffic Law No. 2918 dated 13/10/1983, arranged in the form of an accommodation unit, containing a living area, bed, and bathroom-toilet, designed to be towed by a motor vehicle, having an O2 class type approval certificate, and compliant with the relevant legislation.”
Therefore, placing a mobile home on your land that:
- Has an O2 class type approval certificate,
- Can be towed by a motor vehicle,
- Has a living area,
does not appear to pose any issue.
However, the most fundamental matter to be considered in order for your mobile home to comply with current legislation is that the mobile home must not have any connection to the ground.
Of course, it is clear that in practice we may continue to encounter certain difficulties until the aforementioned regulation is fully adopted by institutions and considering the content of administrative sanctions applied through council decisions taken by institutions. At this point, our recommendation is that individuals, when any administrative sanction is imposed on them, should be careful to defend their rights by complying with the 60-day peremptory period for administrative applications and administrative lawsuits before administrative courts. To obtain more detailed information about the current status and legal position of Tiny Houses, you may listen to the interview featuring our founding partner Av. Tamer ATABAY.
In conclusion, constructing buildings on agricultural lands that are not open to zoning is, of course, unacceptable both for us and for the authorities. However, it is clear that Tiny Houses, which are in the nature of vehicles parked like caravans without any connection to the ground, neither damage the soil, namely agricultural land, nor fail to create a breathing space for people. At this point, as we have stated from the very beginning, it is highly valuable that Tiny Houses are considered vehicles and are defined in the legislation. Through our ongoing efforts, we aim for the ambiguities contained in the said regulation to become clearer and more understandable, as seen in precedent decisions, in the shortest possible time.
Av. Gökçe ATABAY
SOURCES:
https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2024/01/20240118-12.pdf