Off-Grid Living in Davidson County, Tennessee

Davidson County is a special case in Tennessee, and if you're picturing "off-grid" the way you might in a rural TN county, you need to reset your expectations. There's no unincorporated rural land here in the usual sense. The whole county operates as a consolidated city-county government, Metro Nashville-Davidson County, and it includes several satellite cities (Belle Meade, Berry Hill, Forest Hills, Goodlettsville, Oak Hill, Ridgetop) that can have their own quirks, particularly around stormwater rules. For most everything else, Metro's own code and health department run the show countywide.

Zoning. Every parcel in Davidson County has a zoning classification under Metro's own zoning code (Title 17), administered by the Metro Planning Department and Metro Clerk. There's no "unzoned" land to fall back on. I'd also flag that there's newer news coverage (2025-2026) about an Airport Authority land-use layer affecting large parts of the county, but it isn't yet in the official code text, so treat that as unsettled and confirm directly with Planning.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I couldn't confirm Metro has adopted Appendix Q or any specific tiny-house-on-wheels or RV-as-permanent-dwelling ordinance. Metro does enforce the residential building code (IRC) countywide, so any dwelling classification question for a nontraditional structure needs to go straight to Metro Codes & Building Safety.

Building permits. Davidson County has not opted out of state building codes; Metro actively enforces the 2018 IRC for one- and two-family homes, plus adopted commercial, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical codes. Even small additions go through Metro Codes review for setbacks and other zoning standards. Worth noting for off-gridders: Metro's code allows battery-operated smoke detectors in buildings without commercial power, an explicit nod to unwired structures.

Septic and composting toilets. Metro's Board of Health requires a permit before disposing of any sewage, and the Public Health Department's Environmental Health division handles septic design, percolation testing, and feasibility. I found no Davidson-specific exemption for composting toilets; the NSF 41 standard is a state (TDEC) baseline you'd still need to satisfy.

Greywater. No Metro-specific ordinance turned up in my research. Assume the state plumbing code baseline applies and confirm with Metro Codes' Plumbing Inspection Division for your specific setup.

Rainwater harvesting. Nothing in Metro code restricts collecting rainwater. If you plumb it into household systems, that tie-in falls under the adopted plumbing code and needs Codes review.

Wells. Private wells are primarily a state matter (TDEC's Water Well Act, licensed drillers), not something Davidson County permits separately. Metro Water Services gets involved mainly around utility district boundaries and service areas, not well drilling itself.

Utility disconnection. You can go off-grid electrically without any Metro pushback that I found. Water and sewer are a different story: Metro Water Services requires proof of paid capacity and an approved site utility plan as part of building permit sign-off, which effectively means if public water/sewer is accessible, you'll likely need to connect or otherwise satisfy them before a permit closes out.

Bottom line: Davidson County is one of the more regulated places in Tennessee to try to live off-grid, precisely because it's essentially one big Metro jurisdiction with real zoning and active code enforcement everywhere.