OPINION: Living Free on Your Own Land Should Never Be a Crime

In America today, our freedom is being stolen one zoning law at a time. Housing rights are human rights, even on your own property. This article is about the fight for the right to live free on our own land.

I don't normally share YouTube videos but this one has good information to know.

A lot of people think that buying a cheap shed or cabin kit, dropping it on their land, and moving in is a simple path to freedom. It sounds good, it feels like common sense, and it’s the dream many people chase. But here’s the truth: in most places across America, that’s not just difficult, it’s flat-out illegal.

Most folks don't know this.

But most counties in the USA have ordinances that prevent people from putting sheds on their land before a main dwelling is built. That added to the fact that most storage sheds are not build to dwelling code. There could be workarounds and it's up to you to do your research on local zoning and dwelling and building restrictions.

If you don't believe me you may want to read the county zoning restrictions in your county. Call you county zoning office, go on their website, read their restrictions. I can guarantee you that you will be amazed at the laws that restrict you and prohibit you from a wide range of things that you likely thought were ok.

This isn't just about sheds.

It's about building your own dwelling or placing a small modular or manufactured home, tiny home or cabin on your land and living in it.

Most places do not allow that, and even outright prohibit smaller dwellings, cabins, tiny homes, or even folks living in an RV on their own property.

They require permanent structures but can't give you a good legal reason or a reasonable reason why they prohibit these kinds of dwellings.

There's nothing wrong with living in an RV on your own property. Some places allow it. Most places don't.

So here's my opinion on all that.

OPINION: (Don't try this at home!)

When I finally am able to purchase my off grid land, and if I run into any local ordinance that prohibits me from building and occupying and living in a way that's legal federally and internationally, but not locally, I personally will likely protest the kinds of local county ordinances and state regulations that prohibit me from living in a structure that meets IBC/IRC code.

I believe there is no good reason for any county or state to restrict you or prohibit you from living in a structure/dwelling that meets or exceeds ICC/IBC/IRC (international build codes for commercial and residential buildings/dwellings).

I'm willing to exercise my First Amendment rights for an address of grievances against the local/state (and federal) zoning/regulations that unduly restrict and prohibit dwellings that meet international build codes.

This isn’t just about personal frustration, it’s about constitutional rights. The First Amendment protects my right to protest and petition the government over unjust laws. The Fourth Amendment protects my right to be secure in my property and my home without unreasonable interference. And the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law, meaning counties and states cannot pass ordinances that discriminate against low-income families, single parents, or anyone who chooses a smaller, safe, code-compliant dwelling. Together, these amendments make it clear: banning people from living in safe, code-approved homes on their own land isn’t about safety, it’s about control, and it stands against the very Constitution itself.

Local officials act like county commissions and city councils and zoning boards are protecting us, but really they’ve just turned into government-sanctioned HOAs, enforcing aesthetics, tradition, and tax policy over affordability, innovation and freedom.

The local county and state officials cannot honestly claim it's about "health and safety" or any other reason when the structure meets these federally approved and mandated codes.

They may try to use zoning ordinances to prohibit the building of smaller dwelling sizes, but again, these are arbitrary and ambiguous and don't serve any real justifiable purpose.

This isn’t about Red or Blue, Democrat or Republican, Left or Right.

It’s every county in America.

All counties have some form of overly restrictive regulation that infringes on our freedoms and constitutional rights. It’s not a partisan problem, it’s a systemic one. Zoning boards and councils use the same playbook everywhere, piling on rules that make safe, affordable living harder for ordinary people.

• Minimum Dwelling Size Requirements
  – Many counties require houses to be 800, 1,200, or even 2,000 square feet minimum. These laws make small, efficient, affordable homes illegal by default.
• Mandatory Utility Hookups
  – Some places require you to connect to municipal water, sewer, or power even if you have perfectly safe off-grid alternatives like wells, septic, solar, or composting toilets.
• Prohibition on Composting Toilets & Greywater Systems
  – Even though safe, proven, and widely used worldwide, many counties refuse to allow them, forcing people into expensive septic systems that can cost $20–40k.
• Bans on Rainwater Harvesting
  – In some areas it’s technically illegal to collect rain off your own roof without permits or fees. That’s the government claiming ownership of water falling from the sky.
• Restrictions on RV Living
  – Many counties prohibit people from living full-time in RVs, vans, or campers on their own property, even when they’re modern, self-contained, and meet safety standards.
• Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Restrictions
  – Granny flats, basement apartments, or tiny backyard cottages are often outlawed or buried in red tape, even though they provide affordable housing options.
• Occupancy Limits on Families
  – Some areas limit how many unrelated people can live together in one home, which blocks co-ops, shared housing, or multi-family survival strategies.
• Building Material Bans
  – Counties sometimes prohibit proven, safe, and sustainable building methods like cob, rammed earth, straw bale, or shipping container homes, not because they’re unsafe, but because they’re “non-traditional.”
• Zoning That Excludes Mixed-Use
  – Zoning often separates residential, agricultural, and commercial activity, outlawing perfectly reasonable ways of life like running a small farm business from your land.
• Overregulation of Temporary Housing
  – Yurts, tipis, tents, or seasonal structures are often banned or heavily restricted, even though humans lived in them safely for thousands of years.
• Mandatory Paving & Driveway Codes
  – Some places require paved driveways, sidewalks, or specific parking setups, adding unnecessary thousands in costs.
• Height & Roof Pitch Requirements
  – Laws dictating what your house must “look like,” down to roof angles and siding material, which have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with aesthetics.
• Setback Requirements & Lot Restrictions
  – Forcing homeowners to place their dwellings far from the road or property line, eating up land unnecessarily and making smaller lots unbuildable.
• No Off-Grid Power Without Approval
  – Some counties require permits just to install solar panels or even ban you from disconnecting from the utility grid entirely.
• Permit Fees & Endless Inspections
  – A system that charges you thousands in fees just for the “right” to build, then slows you down with layers of bureaucratic inspections designed to generate revenue more than ensure safety.
• Noise and Animal Restrictions – Many counties regulate chickens, goats, roosters, or even the number of pets you can have, even when they pose no threat to health or safety.
• Garden and Food Freedom Restrictions – Believe it or not, some places restrict front-yard gardens or ban selling produce grown on your own land without permits.
• Heat Source and Appliance Restrictions – Wood stoves, rocket mass heaters, or alternative cooking/heating methods are often prohibited even if they meet emissions and safety standards.
• Curfews on Land Use – Some zoning laws restrict camping, bonfires, or even how long guests can stay in RVs or tents on your property
• And the list goes on and on and on...

This is not freedom!

That is not what freedom is.

That's not what freedom looks like.

That's certainly not freedom.

That is the opposite of freedom.

Our Constitutional Rights The Protect Us From Oppressive Law And Government Overreach

• First Amendment → protects your right to protest these laws publicly.
• Fourth Amendment → protects your right to property and privacy in your home.
• Fourteenth Amendment → protects your right to equal protection from discriminatory ordinances that unfairly target low-income or vulnerable people.

Any county or state that prohibits a residential dwelling that meets international building code is going against federal and international law and as citizens we have a constitutional right to protest said law.

These overreaching regulations cause undue financial burden on vulnerable low income working class groups and families, and may also infringe on the FHA (Fair Housing Act).

If I run into issues with any local ordinances that prevent me from building or living in a dwelling that meets IRC code and they can't provide a good and justifiable legal and practical reason for it, I will be protesting if I am forced to.

My method of legal protest will be to build my own small dwelling to IRC code or placing a cabin (or shed) that's built to IRC code on my land, occupy it and living in it as an "act of protest".

Before doing so I will send my address of grievances to the local and state officials notifying them of my intent to protest, and build and occupy the dwelling as an expression of my First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

This First Amendment (4th and 14th, and FHA/IRC/IBC supported) protest is to occupy my land, my dwelling and assert my constitutional rights.

I'm honestly fed up with government overreach and oppressive regulations that infringe on our rights to live free.

Everywhere I turn there are unconstitutional local ordinances that prohibit federally legal dwellings and lifestyles.

There are thousands of different kinds of dwellings that are perfectly viable and livable and safe and comfortable to live in.

The idea that we all must have a suburban home or be forced to live in an apartment or HUD housing is ludicrous and is absolutely economic discrimination against poor and low income families.

In my opinion there is absolutely NO JUSTIFIABLE REASONABLE EXCUSE for local ordinances to exclude or prohibit structures/dwellings from being used or lived in on your own land if those structures and dwellings meet international building codes.

Local ordinances pile extra requirements on top, often convoluted, arbitrary rules rooted in outdated assumptions about “what a house should look like.”

If a structure meets IRC/IBC, then health and safety have already been proven at the highest international standard. That’s the baseline. When local governments pile extra zoning restrictions on top, minimum square footage, arbitrary style requirements, or flat-out bans on smaller dwellings, they’re not protecting people, they’re protecting power and revenue. They want larger houses because larger houses mean higher property taxes, more fees, more debt, and more control. That’s not safety, that’s politically driven economic discrimination against vulnerable low income families dressed up as law.

If a structure meets IRC/IBC, then local restrictions against it aren’t really about “health and safety.”

They’re about zoning and economics, counties want to control land use, enforce minimum dwelling sizes, and keep property tax revenue flowing.

Those are political and financial reasons, not health or safety reasons.

Minimum dwelling size laws and “no shed living” rules, and any rule or zoning regulation or ordinance that prohibits reasonable dwellings, disproportionately burdens low-income families, single parents, and people with disabilities.

If a small, safe, federal and international code-compliant home is outlawed simply because it’s “too small,” or doesn't meet some unreasonable, ambiguous, convoluted, arbitrary regulations imposed by local officials, that can easily be framed as economic discrimination.

Especially if the regulations unreasonably and unnecessarily increase the cost/time of building, permitting, inspecting, approvals or occupying such a building, dwelling or structure.

Unjust Laws Inflict Financial Burden and Economic Hardship

Such laws increase the financial and economic burden on poor and low income families and single parents, and this might infringe on the FHA, in addition to simply causing undue financial burden on those vulnerable low income families. It could also be considered a form economic discrimination because it saddles people with unreasonable unaffordable costs with becoming a land owner and homeowner.

Civil Rights and Laws

The civil rights framework makes it clear that housing is not just a commodity, it’s a right tied to equal opportunity. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or family status. When counties impose minimum dwelling sizes, ban tiny homes, or outlaw RV living, those rules don’t fall evenly on all citizens. They disproportionately burden low-income families, single parents, the elderly, and people with disabilities, exactly the vulnerable groups the FHA was designed to protect. Laws that price people out of safe, code-compliant homes can and should be seen as a form of economic discrimination, cutting people off from fair access to housing. That places these local ordinances in direct tension with civil rights protections.

Human Rights and Laws

On a broader level, the right to housing is recognized internationally as a fundamental human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25) affirms that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including housing. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 11) reinforces this principle, requiring governments to recognize and protect the right to adequate housing. When local U.S. ordinances ban safe, code-compliant dwellings, they aren’t just violating constitutional protections, they’re running contrary to international human rights law.

Forcing families into debt, homelessness, or dependency on substandard options when safe alternatives exist is not governance, it is oppression.

A dwelling that is safe and code-compliant should never be treated as illegal under human rights principles.

If a dwelling is safe, code-compliant, and livable, then banning it isn’t about protecting people, it’s about protecting power.

We all have a legal right as citizens to address and protest such grievances.

At the end of the day, this fight isn’t about sheds, cabins, or tiny homes, it’s about freedom itself. It’s about whether ordinary people have the right to live simply, affordably, and safely on their own land without being crushed by arbitrary rules and endless fees. Housing is a human right, not a privilege reserved for those who can afford bloated mortgages and oversized houses to keep the tax base fat. When government turns safe, code-compliant homes into “illegal dwellings,” it’s not protecting the people, it’s protecting money, power, and a broken system. That is exactly why these unjust laws must be called out, challenged, and protested at every level.

If a safe home is outlawed, then freedom itself is outlawed.

We have a right to live free and unencumbered by oppressive overreaching unjust and unconstitutional laws and regulations that prohibit us from living in and occupying legal, smart, logical, reasonable dwellings.

Freedom is a human right. Living free in a safe and secure home is a right we all have and we have a right to address the governments, local, state and federal and request the laws to be updated, changed, reformed or repealed altogether. If they do not make reasonable intelligent fair accommodations then we have a right to protest such laws.

Owning land shouldn’t mean asking permission to live. I would argue that if and when the law makes shelter a crime, that laws should be protested fiercely and legally.

This is about freedom. It's always been about freedom. And it will always be about freedom.

DISCLAIMER: This my personal opinion and my protest is what I might do in these circumstances if I owned land. It's how I would legally and peacefully protesting what I feel and believe are unfair unconstitutional unnecessary and overly restrictive regulations. I am not recommending or advising anyone else to do what I would do. Do not attempt this yourself. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

This article is a part of a larger series titled Off Grid Rights Watch which delves deep into the laws and regulations from the local, state and federal level as well as constitutional law that governs the land within our borders and the rights we all have as citizens.

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THANK YOU FOR READING!

HAPPY OFF GRIDDING!

MAY ALL YOUR OFF GRID DREAMS COME TRUE!