Expected Results By Feb. 18th, 2022
The Tiny House Alliance USA and a group of stakeholders have been in negotiation with ASTM International for over a year with the goal of being granted a new committee for tiny houses to maintain and develop standards specifically for tiny houses. The latest update is that our proposal has been sent to COTCO ( Committees On Technical Committees Operations), the governing board that grants new ASTM International Committees. At our last organizational meeting we had a positive vote of 53 to 7 to proceed with the request to be granted a new committee. ASTM International has 140 technical committees, including cannabis, nanotechnology, 3D printing, commercial space flight, the performance of buildings, construction materials, sustainability, and more.
About ASTM International
ASTM International is one of the largest ANSI Accredited Standards Developers in the world. They provide a platform for industries to come together with all the stakeholders of an industry to write their own consensus standards to find a common language, practices, methods, terminology, unifying a mosaic of rules and processes to agreed upon procedures, resulting in conformity, consumer safety, and uniformity without borders. 150 countries will be able to participate.
Why Does The Tiny House Industry Need Standards? A Global Dilemma: Is It A Building Or Is It A Vehicle?
Tiny Houses On Wheels-How many municipalities across the globe are asking the question ”Is A Tiny House On Wheels A Building Or A Vehicle?
There are numerous associations that have formed across the globe representing the stakeholders to implement change in legislation and zoning to legalize tiny houses to become a viable solution to housing. There are think tanks, affordable housing summits, festivals, and meetings after meetings are occurring, all with the goal to create more legal places to live.
At this time, there is not one unified industry standard that is recognized for tiny houses on wheels, and each jurisdiction, bank, insurance agency, etc… could have a different definition and criteria to deny or allow them.
Tiny houses on wheels are most commonly built with RV and Park Model standards.
Learn More: Tiny Houses On Wheels Barriers To Living Legally
Tiny House Proposal
During our negotiation with ASTM international, the stakeholders wrote a proposal to COTCO.
Related: Ethan Waldman Interviews Janet Thome On Podcast
Ethan Waldman interviewed Janet Thome on the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast that is airing on Sept. 24th, 2021 at 7 am EST time. Janet Thome is the founder and President of Tiny House Alliance USA and is also leading an exploratory initiate to develop Global Standards for tiny houses.
Quote From Ethan
Janet and I have been talking for a while and we’ve decided that it’s finally time to pull back the curtain on the efforts that she has been working on for the last several months and do an interview on the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast. Janet is the Founder, President, and Treasurer of Tiny House Alliance USA and is currently leading an exploratory initiative to develop new global building standards with ASTM. Before your eyes glaze over, I encourage you to stick with this show because Janet does a great job of explaining what ASTM International is, what standards are, how they would impact the tiny house building industry, dwellers, DIYers, not just in the United States or North America, but in the entire world. It’s a really exciting effort. I think there’s a lot of potential here and we need more people to get involved.
Contact Janet Thome to be added to the stakeholder’s list.
janet@tinyhouseallianceusa.org 509 345 2013
We Envision a World Where Legislators, Building Code Officials, Builders and Consumers No Longer Have to Weave the Mass Confusion of Conflicting Codes and Standards for Tiny Houses.
Tiny House Alliance USA Editor
Feb. 6th, 2022