Updates
What we published, changed or corrected, and the state law changes our research is tracking. Each state guide also shows the date its own sources were checked.
Recent law changes we track
Recent state legislation that changes what an off-grid buyer can do, with the official source. Effective dates matter: a bill can pass months before it applies, and agencies may still be writing the rules.
- Alabama: Licensed builders must follow a state residential code from January 1, 2027Act 2024-443 repealed the Energy and Residential Codes Board and moved authority over the state residential code to the Home Builders Licensure Board. Local governments still decide whether to run permit programs; owner-builders are exempt from licensing. Code of Alabama § 34-14A-12 (Act 2024-443) · Read more
- New Hampshire: Tiny houses on wheels are no longer RVs (effective September 13, 2026)HB 1681 (Chapter 330 of 2026) defines a tiny house on wheels built for living in as not a camp trailer or RV, and lets towns treat tiny houses and yurts as single-family homes or accessory dwelling units. Text read from a mirror of the General Court docket. HB 1681 (2026), Chapter 330 · Read more
- Colorado: Greywater allowed statewide unless a local government opts out (January 1, 2026)HB24-1362 reversed the 2013 opt-in system, under which few cities or counties ever allowed greywater. Indoor reuse is limited to new construction by default. HB24-1362, Measures to Promote the Use of Graywater · Read more
- Wisconsin: Greywater reuse must meet treatment standards (October 1, 2023)Plumbing code changes require reused greywater to meet treatment standards using NSF 350-listed devices. Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 382 · Read more
- Florida: An RV may stay on a storm-damaged lot for up to 36 months (July 1, 2023)SB 250 bars counties and cities from prohibiting one RV or similar temporary shelter on a residential property whose home a declared disaster made uninhabitable, while the owner rebuilds. It does not cover vacant land. CS/CS/SB 250 (2023), chapter 2023-304 · Read more
- Arizona: Greywater may flush toilets indoors (2023)Laws 2023, chapter 105 (HB 2143) allows household greywater under 400 gallons a day to be treated to NSF 350 and used for toilet flushing. Laws 2023, Chapter 105 (HB 2143) · Read more
Site changes
· Articles, winter sun data and a ranking you control
- Published five reported articles: peak sun hours by state, counties without building codes, greywater laws by state, living in an RV on your own land and tiny house laws by state.
- Added NASA POWER solar data (2001–2025) for every state’s 2020 center of population, with annual and worst-month peak sun hours. Each state guide now shows its December figure.
- The solar calculator fills in worst-month sun hours for a chosen state and shows the monthly profile. Both calculators accept a state from a link.
- The best states comparison gained a ranking you can weight yourself, a map and a December sun column. The data behind it is downloadable as a CSV.
- The homepage gained a state map that can be colored by building code, rainwater rules, winter sun, land value or property tax.
· Structured state facts and 50-state tables
- Added a sourced record for each state covering building code, septic authority, composting toilets, rainwater, wells and water law and RV occupancy, shown at the top of every state guide with state-specific questions.
- Published 50-state tables for rainwater, composting toilets, building codes and wells and water rights, and the best states comparison with USDA land values, Tax Foundation property tax rates and NOAA rainfall.
- Published the solar and rainwater calculators.
· Practical guides and a technical review
- Added eight practical guides, from evaluating land to handing over a finished system, with blank worksheets in CSV and text form.
- Completed an accessibility, performance and source-link review of every page.
· First edition
- Published all 50 state guides, ten research topics, a utilities guide, an Arizona–Texas comparison and the 55-item buyer checklist.
Found something out of date?
Send the statute, rule, ordinance or agency letter that shows the change. How corrections work.