Mobile, AL Trailer Housing After Isaias

Local rule on a trailer on your lot. We found an official local rule for the City of Mobile, the City of Saraland, the Town of Dauphin Island, and unincorporated Mobile County, including Theodore, each quoted below with its source. For the City of Prichard, 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 the City of Mobile, Prichard, Saraland, Theodore, Dauphin Island, and unincorporated Mobile County whose home is not livable after Hurricane Isaias. Alabama has no statewide rule on living in a travel trailer on your own lot while you rebuild, so the answer here changes from one town to the next. The City of Mobile has a written rule for a home made unfit to live in, Dauphin Island lets its Town Council approve an RV as a residence after a disaster, Saraland's code bars living in a travel trailer outside a park, and unincorporated Mobile County, including Theodore, has no zoning. 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 Mobile 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
Alabama. Governor Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 40 Alabama counties, effective 4 p.m. CDT on October 7, 2026. On October 8 she ordered non-residents, tourists, and visitors to leave Baldwin County south of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, including Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and Zone 1 in Mobile County, including Dauphin Island. Source

Governor Ivey's October 8 order covered Zone 1 in Mobile County, including Dauphin Island. The hurricane warning in the National Hurricane Center advisory above ran from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, east to the Florida Panhandle, a stretch that takes in the Mobile County coast.

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 Mobile County Emergency Management Agency. For the current forecast, go to the National Hurricane Center.

Local rules on living in an RV on your lot

Start with where your address sits. Inside the City of Mobile, Prichard, Saraland, or Dauphin Island, the city or town code and its permit office apply. In Theodore and the rest of unincorporated Mobile County, the county's Inspection Services issues building permits, and the county says there is no zoning.

Flood zones in the City of Mobile: the city's flood code says a recreational vehicle in flood zones A1 to A30, AH, AE, or shaded X must be on the site fewer than 180 consecutive days, or be fully licensed and ready for highway use, or meet the permit, elevation, and anchoring rules for a manufactured home. The same test applies in VE and coastal AE zones. Ask Build Mobile which zone your lot is in.

City of Mobile

When an event makes a single-family home unfit to live in, the city's Unified Development Code allows a manufactured home or RV to be lived in on that same lot while the home is repaired or rebuilt. It must meet the zoning district's setbacks and have water and sanitary facilities. Occupancy is allowed for up to one year during active construction, the director may extend it while there is an active building permit and active construction, and the unit must stop being lived in, and be disconnected from water and sanitary facilities, within 14 days after the certificate of occupancy is issued. The code names no separate permit for the RV itself, so check with Build Mobile.

“The manufactured home or recreational vehicle may be occupied for up to one (1) year during active construction. The director may grant extensions if there is an active building permit and active construction on site.” Source

Permits: Build Mobile (Planning and Zoning, Permitting, Inspections).

City of Prichard

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 Prichard. 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 Prichard Inspections Department.

City of Saraland

Saraland's zoning code says a travel trailer may not be lived in, even temporarily, while it is parked anywhere except in an authorized park. We did not find a storm or disaster exception in the code, so ask the Building Department before a trailer is placed on your lot.

“A travel trailer shall not be occupied either temporarily or permanently while it is parked or stored in any area, except in a park as authorized herein.” Source

Permits: City of Saraland Building Department, 251-679-5502.

Town of Dauphin Island

The town's zoning ordinance says that after a natural, man-made, or any other disaster, an RV may be used as a residence for up to 180 days with Town Council review and approval, and the Council may grant an extension. The same section says no RV may be on a vacant or undeveloped lot, and that all RVs must leave the island in an island-wide evacuation, so ask the town how that applies if your house is gone.

“In the event of a natural, man-made, or any type of disaster, an RV may be used for habitation purposes for a maximum time period of one hundred eighty (180) days with Council review and approval. An extension may be granted based on Council review and approval.” Source

Permits: Town of Dauphin Island permits, Town Hall, 251-861-5525.

Unincorporated Mobile County, including Theodore

Mobile County says there is no zoning in its unincorporated areas, so we found no county zoning rule on an RV on a residential lot there. Building permits come from Mobile County Inspection Services, and if the home is on a septic tank, the county's permit sheet says adding an RV needs Mobile County Health Department approval.

“There is no zoning in the unincorporated areas of Mobile County.” Source

Permits: Mobile County Inspection Services, 251-574-3507.

Septic and health: Mobile County Inspection Services' building permit sheet says that if you add bedrooms or RVs and the home is on a septic tank system, approval from the Mobile County Health Department (251-634-9801) is required. Source

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 Alabama Department of Insurance explains that additional living expenses reimburse the cost of your additional living arrangements, and it lists a trailer alongside a hotel or an apartment. It says you will need all receipts to be reimbursed.

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 Mobile. 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 Mobile 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 Mobile 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 Alabama temporary housing page.
Nearby: Baldwin County, AL
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 the City of Mobile after Hurricane Isaias?

Mobile's Unified Development Code allows a manufactured home or RV to be lived in on the same single-family lot when an event makes the home unfit to live in, while it is repaired or rebuilt. The unit must meet setbacks and have water and sanitary facilities. The code allows up to one year during active construction, with extensions at the director's discretion while there is an active building permit, and the unit must be vacated within 14 days after the certificate of occupancy. Check with Build Mobile on permits.

What is the rule on Dauphin Island?

Dauphin Island's zoning ordinance says that after a disaster an RV may be used as a residence for up to 180 days with Town Council review and approval, and the Council may extend it. The ordinance also bars RVs on vacant or undeveloped lots and says all RVs must leave the island in an island-wide evacuation. Ask Town Hall, 251-861-5525, before a trailer is placed.

I live in Theodore or elsewhere outside city limits. What applies to me?

Mobile County says there is no zoning in its unincorporated areas, which include Theodore. Building permits come from Mobile County Inspection Services, 251-574-3507. If the home is on a septic tank, the county's permit sheet says adding an RV needs Mobile County Health Department approval, 251-634-9801.

Can I put a trailer on my lot in Saraland?

Saraland's zoning code says a travel trailer may not be lived in, even temporarily, except in an authorized park, and we did not find a disaster exception. Ask the Saraland Building Department, 251-679-5502, before a trailer is placed. We confirm the rules for your address before delivery and will tell you if a trailer on your lot is not the right fit.

What about Prichard?

We did not find Prichard's code of ordinances online, so we cannot quote a rule. Check with the City of Prichard Inspections Department, which handles permits and inspections, before a trailer is placed. We confirm the local requirements for your address before delivery.

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.