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'Park model' homes spur tax and code confusion in Floyd County; staff weighing options
Summary
County staff and appraisers told supervisors the county is seeing 30–40 park‑model homes that are being taxed as personal property; staff outlined the legal gray area and possible local or state approaches.
Floyd County staff told the board that a new wave of "park model" units'small, RV‑like dwellings sold as tiny homes'is generating confusion over how those units should be taxed and regulated.
County staff and the assessor reported that many park models arrive with a bill of sale and are being treated as personal property (taxed like an RV), while HUD‑defined manufactured homes follow a separate process that can convert a titled unit to real property when the title is surrendered. Staff said they have identified about 30–40 park model units in the county and that the units'often 400 square feet or less and built to RV or park‑model industry standards'are sometimes being used as primary residences by older or fixed‑income residents.
The county attorney and staff reviewed options: leave current practice in place (tax as personal property unless a title is surrendered), change local zoning or building rules to treat certain park models as real estate, or ask the General Assembly for clarifying state law. Officials noted several other localities in the region are handling similar questions in different ways: some tax park models as personal property at the real estate rate; others require building permits when porches or permanent attachments are added and assess them as real property after a title surrender or when built to code.
Staff recommended more information and coordination with the Commissioner of the Revenue and the assessor, and suggested the county could ask regional associations (e.g., VACO) or state legislators for guidance if the policy consequences remain unclear. The board asked staff to continue research and consider a joint presentation to relevant state or regional groups.
Background: HUD regulates manufactured housing that meets federal standards and bears a HUD tag; park model units instead commonly follow RV industry standards and often carry a bill of sale, not a state vehicle title, complicating treatment for local tax and building code purposes.
County staff said they will return with options for the board to consider; no ordinance change was proposed at the meeting.
