Anonymous wrote:
That's pesky, no living on boats on land in BC! It's a nice advantage of barges, that being rectangular it would be easier to pass as a land dwelling. How is BC about tiny houses? Regulations in the Northeast US can be a real chore about that. Of course, it's just more inspiration to keep the boat floating…
Tiny houses seem to be ok and things seem to be relaxed about full time RV living too (It used to be maximum 10 months stay in one spot). Of course there is a distance limit to how far inspectors are willing to drive to check things out too, so location is important. (location includes neighbours who might complain) I think the no living on a dried out boat rule is more to keep people from living on the hard in boat yards, but I don't think I would get away with it in my back yard either. One does have to also think about what does "living in" mean? That is I think one could get away with sleeping in a boat so long as they were not using the toilet or sink. I don't know about using a stove to cook lunch while working on a boat either. So in places where a "lived in" building needs a permit while other building do not, a "bunk house" for sleeping only can be an un-permitted building (Farms mostly do not require permits for most buildings other than "the dwelling"). So one could get away with having a set of buildings like a bath house, a bunk house, a kitchen and a studio, none of which required a permit. They do seem to like to see at least one dwelling on the property though :)
Where my parents live things are different (southern Alberta). The minimum size for a dwelling there is 1200 Sqft. This rules out many mobile homes and makes old homes that want to renovate add an enclosed porch as part of that renovation.
So, I think the no living on boats has more to do with sewage than anything. I am sure the reasoning is that it is a health hazard.