Are there still any states without any annoying building permitting requirements and stupid rules?
Anywhere in America where you are responsible for what you build and no one is coming to get you and mess with your life for building?
In CA, all new construction now requires not only fire sprinklers at $2 per sf, but also solar panel systems averaging $15000.
We don't want any of that government tyranny, we just want to build a house. So out of curiosity, what is the most free state to build in?
Most of the government oversight comes from counties, as far as I am aware. There may be some state minimums, but the counties are the ones that adopt codes and enforce compliance.
Where I am building in Alaska, there is no county government. It is an unincorporated census area. There is no code, no enforcement, and no taxes. In the inhabited parts of the state such as Municipality of Anchorage or in the Fairbanks North Star Borough you will have to get permits and have your house inspected.
Building codes are adopted at the state level, enforcement is at the county or town level. There is a do your own thing county in CA, I wouldn't buy a house there but it might be easier to build one. Few states adopted the sprinkler mandate.
As for California, most all of the Sierra Counties, northern and farm/ranch counties are not as bad as you would think. If you get near the bay area or soCal and their environs, you are going to face the high cost of construction. It is not that they want you to build safer, they really do not want you to build at all. This is in order to keep the real estate price high.
Below is a link to a pix of where we live. The camera is used to see wildfires. Yet another cost to live here. Worth it we think, but our ditch plan is probably going to be Nevada.
The smoke is from my neighbor burning brush. The tower is one I maintain for back-up power. It has triple AGS and can go 2 weeks before the fuel runs out. Yep the banks always want to do business, even during wildfires....
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2tTcf13g61gKDfqQFacRMF0H34kLajZJierNhAcKH1IgwHWKGmJCaSjcToncFb5sJxfp6Ntz8pnIBsYzSN3ryDXT_jtAgrLxxECy3xNScJxLT6bTWot6vgI-6XUeA6Q1SaEsqChPkD8BNgmopXPNQB4mKIz8gB6C42K16-qJfhhZuQCx8Hh3uBeD6z4IdJsnX4RT88T4lC_Q_Or_wmZuHhoaA2j8JzT81nPDdJFWmiNDJA15MywnyHQENtL3qo0mtc320C6DcKfMCOiX1yIsSTzOy23j8tGsZosOEec0Nv0wxd3fWyeC478dD4jj0VWYitTGSjpIp1Voxf3JVjPJMATsF680s__rokfthbqDTh0W6Iu4qjDbyXQhGahB5S8Mok-TJbZ_pmWLHTt5XtEyIyU03bmt2mx8MaItFJqIJKNzYeKMqbpIKY7Qbb5ZJdOGAIU-HQnC0OD4rFky7xLkf6XUUcn8PGrMhYaXnLBaPMfiuwRquS8BNH8bYd4CWwSQxH93pMbGmUj5iDjXCAZetxpk6gI_DpKo1BOaxHr_0MRNZHOy4uVbDxFtdad1IbC-hLggmBOrWoPYkW5GcVrrKXuK0Pnnw3dhxpuyPGKWruYXcYh9QRIVGyZrWeeOe-XHJptgvJCwOB8r_SE1FIWFLJxzIlIwniLeV9gXsLuWdE1Y9WcLtEx7eDvesjaAmg=w1413-h736-no?authuser=0