This is an exciting time in the tiny house movement, as cities and states across the country are looking at legalizing tiny houses in some form. There are many strategies that advocates of tiny houses are using to push for tiny house legalization. I recently heard from a listener, today’s guest Dan Armstrong, about something called RILUIPA, or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. There have been several examples of churches and nonprofits using this law to legally build tiny house villages. Dan is here to explain what RILUIPA is and how it can be used to help forge a path forward for tiny house villages.

In This Episode:

Why was the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RILUIPA) made?
Protections RILUIPA affords to tiny houses
Two notable cases and their implications on living tiny legally
What are the parameters of RILUIPA?

Links and Resources:

Open Table Nashville
Litigating Religious Land Use Cases by Dan Dalton
Proposed Zoning Code Text Amendment: Intentional Community Cluster Development
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act
American Tiny House Association (ATHA)
Dan Armstrong’s RILUIPA Word Document

Guest Bio:

Dan Armstrong

Dan Armstrong is a former pastor who is working with the Minnesota chapter of the ATHA to explore how religious organizations can serve the housing needs of communities by building tiny houses. Dan is also a former Special Education teacher who suffered a stroke in 2016, which left him with two disabilities. He subsequently left teaching, and lost the level of income that came with his position. Dan's experience has driven his passion for serving the housing needs of “the least of them” in society, and he believes that religious organizations have untapped potential to do this through tiny houses.

https://www.facebook.com/dan.armstrong.3781