Hancock County, MS Housing After Isaias

Local rule on a trailer on your lot. We found an official local rule for the City of Bay St. Louis, the City of Waveland, and unincorporated Hancock County, each quoted below with its source. For the City of Diamondhead, check with the city or county. We confirm the rules for your address before delivery. See the local rules.

This page is for homeowners in Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Diamondhead, and unincorporated Hancock County whose home is not livable after Hurricane Isaias. Mississippi has no statewide rule on living in a travel trailer on your own lot while you rebuild, and in Hancock County the standing codes are strict. Waveland is the one place with a written path for an RV on the lot during a rebuild, through a Temporary Conditional Use. Bay St. Louis and Hancock County bar RV living outside a park, and Diamondhead has no standing rule but has passed a storm resolution before. 1st Choice Living has placed furnished travel trailers on homeowners' own property, nationwide, since 2004, and we bill the carrier directly under ALE where the claim covers it.

Hurricane Isaias and the Hancock County area

Storm facts as of October 9, 2026, 5 p.m. CDT, from official sources:

The storm. In its 4 p.m. CDT advisory on October 9, 2026, the National Hurricane Center said Isaias was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph, and that it was forecast to make landfall along the coast of the western Florida Panhandle that evening and then move across Alabama. Source
Warnings. That advisory had a hurricane warning in effect from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay and Gulf County line in Florida, and said storm surge could reach 6 to 9 feet above ground from the Alabama and Florida border to Grayton Beach, Florida. Source
Mississippi. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said on October 9, 2026, that parts of Jackson County were under a hurricane warning and that shelters and safe rooms were open in George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and Pearl River counties. We did not find a statewide emergency order on an official Mississippi page as of this update. Source

MEMA's October 9 update listed Hancock County among the counties with shelters and safe rooms open. The hurricane warning in the National Hurricane Center advisory above began at Ocean Springs, in Jackson County, and ran east from there.

Return to your property only when local officials say it is safe. Stay out of flood water and keep clear of downed lines. For roads, shelters, and re-entry, follow the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency. For the current forecast, go to the National Hurricane Center.

Local rules on living in an RV on your lot

Local governments here can act after a storm. Diamondhead passed Resolution 2020-080 after Hurricane Zeta, allowing camper trailers on private property for homes damaged by that storm, for up to six months with one three-month extension. It applied only to Zeta. We did not find an Isaias resolution on the city's resolutions page as of October 9, 2026. Hancock County's RV Park Ordinance also reserves the Board of Supervisors' power to act under Mississippi's emergency management law, so a post-storm Board order could change the county rule. Ask the office for your address what is in effect.

Bay St. Louis: the city's zoning ordinance is the 2017 version, and a new draft was out for Planning and Zoning review, so ask whether anything has changed.

Septic: we did not find a Mississippi State Department of Health or county rule for hooking a single RV to a home's septic system during a rebuild. Ask the permit office what the sewer connection needs.

City of Bay St. Louis

Bay St. Louis' zoning ordinance says no RV may be used as a dwelling; RVs are allowed for recreation and camping only in a designated RV park and may be stored only on a lot with a primary dwelling. The ordinance's emergency occupancy provision covers manufactured homes, not RVs: with Building Department permission, a manufactured home may be used for emergency occupancy on a lot for 30 days, extendable to 90. Check with the Building Department before a trailer is placed.

“No recreational vehicle shall be used as a dwelling. Recreational vehicles shall only be allowed for recreation and camping in a designated Recreational Vehicle Park.” Source

Permits: City of Bay St. Louis Building Department, 228-469-0531.

City of Waveland

Waveland's zoning ordinance bars RV occupancy outside approved manufactured home parks unless another section allows it, and one does: an owner may apply for a Temporary Conditional Use to live in one RV on the lot while a permanent home is being built, approved by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen after Planning and Zoning Commission review. Approval lasts up to 180 days, with one more 180-day request possible. The owner needs a current building permit, a completed and inspected foundation, an RV evacuation plan for named storms, and a road-ready, licensed RV with quick-disconnect utilities. The section is written for building a permanent home, so confirm with the Building Department how it applies to a repair.

“A Temporary Conditional Use for a Recreational Vehicle may be applied for only in connection with the erection of a permanent residential dwelling when the following listed conditions have been met.” Source

Permits: City of Waveland Building Department, (228) 466-2549.

City of Diamondhead

We did not find a rule on living in an RV or travel trailer on your own lot on an official page for the City of Diamondhead. Check with the city or county before a trailer is placed, and ask whether a permit is needed and how long a temporary unit may stay.

Permits: City of Diamondhead Building Department, 228-222-4626, ext. 1791.

Unincorporated Hancock County

Hancock County's RV Park Ordinance says RV use outside an RV park is not allowed, though an RV may be stored on a property that has a primary dwelling. We did not find an RV storm or rebuild exception. The zoning ordinance does let the county grant a temporary permit of up to six months for a deviation from a district's uses, on written application with a Planning Commission recommendation and proof of good cause, so ask Planning and Zoning.

“Recreational Vehicle use outside a recreational vehicle park is not allowed.” Source

Permits: Hancock County Planning and Zoning, 228-467-4157.

Rules here were read on official city and county pages on October 9, 2026 and can change after a storm. The side-by-side table for every Isaias area is on Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county.

How the trailer is billed: Additional Living Expenses

Additional Living Expenses, or ALE, sometimes called loss of use, pays for somewhere to live while the house is not livable. Ask your carrier whether your policy includes it and what the limit is. The Mississippi Insurance Department explains that additional living expenses coverage will pay for you to move somewhere temporarily when you cannot live in your home because of damage your policy covers, and it advises you to ask your insurance company early whether you have that coverage.

Local rules for your address checked before delivery.
A furnished travel trailer that sleeps 2 to 10, with a kitchen, a bathroom, real beds, and heat and air, delivered, leveled, and set up on your property.
Utilities connected by licensed, insured contractors from our preferred vendor network, planned around what is actually working at the property.
Site conditions documented at setup and again at takedown.
Direct billing to your carrier under ALE where the claim covers it, tracked against your ALE limit. On a covered claim that is $0 out of pocket for your family.
One named contact from the first call to the day the unit leaves.

Flood is different. National Flood Insurance Program policies do not provide additional living expense coverage. If your home also had damage your homeowners policy covers, such as wind, ask your adjuster how ALE applies. This is general information, not legal or coverage advice. Your policy and your adjuster decide what is covered.

Already working with a temporary housing company?

We work with any temporary housing company. If one is handling your housing, ask them to place you with 1st Choice Living for a trailer on your own lot in Hancock County. They send us the placement, we deliver, set up, and service the trailer, and the billing runs through them or straight to your carrier, whichever way their program works.

What we need to start

The property address in Hancock County and whether it is inside city limits.
How many people are in the household.
Your claim number and your adjuster’s name and contact.
Your ALE limit, if your adjuster has told you.

From there we check the local rules for that address, confirm the lot can take a unit, and plan setup around what is safe and working at the property. If a trailer on your lot is not the right fit, we will tell you. Adjusters and housing companies can send a placement through for adjusters and carriers.

Ask about a trailer on your Hancock County lot

Call or send the request form with your claim number, your adjuster’s contact, and the property address. We confirm the local rules and set up a furnished unit on your property.

Call (214) 493-1515 Request housing

More Hurricane Isaias pages

Temporary housing after Hurricane Isaias: storm facts, safety, and ALE for Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.
Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county: every area in one table.
Our Mississippi temporary housing page.
Nearby: Gulfport and Biloxi (Harrison County), MS
Nearby: Pascagoula and Ocean Springs (Jackson County), MS
Travel trailers for crews and families after Hurricane Isaias from Temporary RV Living.
Drone documentation after Hurricane Isaias from LossMap, to record roof and property damage before cleanup.

Frequently asked questions

Can I live in an RV on my lot in Waveland after Hurricane Isaias?

Waveland's zoning ordinance lets an owner apply for a Temporary Conditional Use to live in one RV on the lot while a permanent home is being built, approved by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen after Planning and Zoning review, for up to 180 days with one more 180-day request. It requires a current building permit, an inspected foundation, and a storm evacuation plan for the RV. Ask the Building Department, (228) 466-2549, how it applies to a repair.

What is the rule in Bay St. Louis?

Bay St. Louis' zoning ordinance says no RV may be used as a dwelling outside a designated RV park. Its emergency occupancy provision covers manufactured homes, not RVs. Check with the Building Department, 228-469-0531, before a trailer is placed, and ask whether the new zoning draft has changed anything.

Will Diamondhead allow a camper trailer after Isaias?

Diamondhead has no standing rule for it, but after Hurricane Zeta the city passed Resolution 2020-080 allowing camper trailers on private property for Zeta-damaged homes, for up to six months with one three-month extension. That applied only to Zeta, and we did not find an Isaias resolution as of October 9, 2026. Ask the Building Department, 228-222-4626, ext. 1791.

I live outside city limits in Hancock County. What applies?

Hancock County's RV Park Ordinance says RV use outside an RV park is not allowed. The zoning ordinance allows a temporary permit of up to six months for a deviation from a district's uses, with a Planning Commission recommendation and proof of good cause, and the Board of Supervisors can act under emergency law after a storm. Ask Planning and Zoning, 228-467-4157.

Will my homeowners policy pay for a trailer on my Hancock County lot?

The Mississippi Insurance Department explains that additional living expenses coverage pays for you to move somewhere temporarily when you cannot live in your home because of damage your policy covers. Your carrier and adjuster decide what is approved and the limit. When the claim covers it, we bill the carrier directly and a covered claim is $0 out of pocket for you.

Stay on your lot while the house is repaired

One named contact, local rules checked before delivery, direct billing to your carrier where the claim covers it.