Tiny house for business: office, practice, salon, the rules

Working a few steps from home, opening a hair salon without renting commercial premises, offering treatments in a calm setting: the business tiny house appeals to self-employed people and small businesses. But a workplace, and even more so a place that receives clients, is subject to different rules from a home. This guide goes through them, from the simplest to the most demanding.

Which business use, which rules?

It all comes down to one question: does the tiny house receive members of the public?

• An office where you work alone (remote working, online business, workshop without clients): only planning rules apply.
• A place that welcomes clients (hair salon, massage practice, consultations, shop): it is an establishment open to the public (établissement recevant du public, ERP). On top of the planning rules come accessibility rules for disabled people and fire safety rules, with a separate authorisation.

Which planning authorisation for a garden office?

The procedure follows the status of the house, just as for residential use (see our guide planning permission or prior declaration):

• Tiny house set on the ground, a separate new building: no formalities up to 5 m², a prior declaration from 5 to 20 m² of footprint or floor area, and planning permission (permis de construire) above that.
• Tiny house on wheels: it falls under the caravan regime; if it stays on site for more than three months a year, a prior declaration is required.

A common pitfall: the 40 m² threshold for a prior declaration, which you often read about, only applies to the extension of an existing building in an urban zone of a PLU. A free-standing tiny house placed in the garden is a new building: above 20 m², it needs planning permission, even in an urban zone.

Does the PLU allow business activity in the zone?

The French planning code classifies buildings by use classes and sub-classes (destinations et sous-destinations): housing; retail and service activities (including crafts and retail trade, and service activities that receive clients); other tertiary activities (including offices). The PLU regulations may allow or prohibit each of them depending on the zone.

An ancillary building is deemed to have the same use class as the main building (article R151-29): a small home office attached to your house therefore remains, in principle, in the housing use class. On the other hand, premises that receive clients fall under a different sub-class, which the PLU must allow. Check this in your municipality’s PLU or with the planning department before you buy.

What is an establishment open to the public?

An ERP is a building, premises or enclosed area to which people are admitted freely or on payment. ERPs are classified by type of activity, designated by a letter (M for shops, U for care establishments, W for offices and public administrations, etc.), and by category according to the number of people they receive. A business tiny house almost always falls into the 5th category, the least restrictive, which covers establishments below the thresholds of the 4th.

A useful exception: business premises located within a home are not an ERP when the entrance or circulation areas are shared with the living space. A free-standing tiny house in the garden, with its own entrance, does not benefit from this exception.

Which accessibility rules for a tiny house that receives clients?

Since 2015, all ERPs must be accessible to disabled people, whatever their disability: physical, visual, hearing, mental or psychological. For a new establishment, full compliance is required from construction; exemptions (technical impossibility, clearly disproportionate costs, heritage) are reserved for existing buildings.

In practice, for a tiny house, the sensitive points are:

• Access: a house on a trailer is raised off the ground; a compliant path and ramp up to the entrance are needed.
• The door and circulation space: sufficient clear width and manoeuvring space for a wheelchair.
• The toilets: if they are open to the public, an accessible toilet is required.
• Information: a public accessibility register must be available for consultation at reception (compulsory since 2017).

A single-storey model, such as the Lovewood or the Terrawood, makes the interior layout easier, but does not remove the need for external access. Have the project validated by an accessibility professional before ordering.

What steps before opening to the public?

Creating or fitting out an ERP requires, in addition to the planning authorisation, an authorisation to build, fit out or alter an ERP (Cerfa form 13824), assessed with regard to accessibility and fire safety, with the opinion of the departmental advisory committee on safety and accessibility. According to Justice.fr, the processing time is four months when it accompanies a prior declaration, and five months with planning permission.

Once open, the establishment must comply with the fire safety rules for its category (fire extinguisher, emergency lighting, escape routes) and keep its accessibility register up to date. Build these timescales into your launch schedule.

Which models for which trade?

• Office and remote working: the office tiny house, 20 m², designed as a quiet workspace.
• Hairdressing: the hair salon tiny house, 20 m².
• Treatments and massage: the massage tiny house, 20 m², with a shower.

These models are priced on a quote, depending on how they are fitted out for your activity: contact us to discuss it.

Insurance, tax and financing: what should you check?

• Insurance: professional liability insurance and cover for the premises and equipment come on top of the insurance for the house. See our guide on tiny house insurance.
• Tax: a tiny house set down as a building may be subject to property tax (taxe foncière) and the development tax (taxe d’aménagement); business premises may also fall within the scope of the business property contribution (cotisation foncière des entreprises). See our guide on property tax for a tiny house.
• Financing: for a business, a professional loan or leasing can be considered. See our guide on financing a tiny house.

Key points

• Without clients on site, only planning rules apply: a prior declaration or planning permission depending on the floor area.
• The 40 m² threshold only concerns extensions; a separate tiny house of more than 20 m² needs planning permission.
• The PLU must allow the activity: check the use sub-class of your project.
• As soon as it receives the public, the tiny house is an ERP: full accessibility for new buildings and a specific authorisation (Cerfa 13824).
• Professional insurance and local taxes need to be factored into the budget.

Please note: this guide sets out the general rules, checked on the date shown. It does not replace personalised advice: local rules (PLU, protected areas, risk zones) may be stricter. For a specific project, contact your town hall’s planning department or the ADIL (departmental housing information agency) for your département.