Josh Heins and Manu Bohn’s 12-square-metre home in the New South Wales Bega Valley could be viewed as too small for comfort.

Mr Heins described it as being “as long as the biggest crocodile recorded, but not quite as tall as the average giraffe”.

“Everything’s pretty cramped,” he said.

“But it fits us. It fits all the things that we love.”

However, their dwelling has fallen foul of local council rules and they may lose their home.

When the couple had their tiny home on wheels built in Coolagolite in 2023, they saw it as an opportunity to secure a place during a rental crisis.

They believed their tiny home was classified as a caravan within NSW government legislation, as it was on wheels and could be towed on the road.

Two men gardening in front of a small hous, one has moustache, person of colour, cap, other red-haired, blue sky.

The couple has permission from the land owners to park their tiny home. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)

“It was designed to fit within the size and weight specifications for caravans as per Transport for NSW,” Mr Heins said.

Tiny homes on wheels are not considered permanent dwellings and are therefore dealt with under vehicle safety laws, often assessed as caravans. 

Under NSW law, one caravan can be installed on a property without needing council approval if it is associated with an occupied house and used by members of the household.

The couple is not related to the owners of the property, but they say they are “like second family” and believe the definition of household is “broad” under the law.

The owners say they are happy to be able to help the couple and support them being on the property.

A council document.

An eviction notice was delivered to the property. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)

Bega Valley Shire Council issued the owners of the property a draft eviction notice in April and followed it with a formal notice in June.

The council referred to the dwelling as an unauthorised structure that needed development approval and ordered them to stop using or to demolish the structure by the end of September.

“We were very shocked and surprised,” Mr Bohn said.

“All of this time, money and effort put into a place to be called home, it was suddenly like it’s taken without any path for us.”

One man stands, has hand on shoulder of man sitting on chair, dog, grey and wooden tall tiny house.

The couple had their tiny home designed by local engineers.  (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)

Crisis units in dispute

The Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast (SJA) is facing similar challenges over the definitions of moveable dwellings.

The charity’s housing and homelessness convenor, Michael Brosnan, said the organisation operated two dozen caravans and eight moveable units across the Bega Valley to house people at risk of homelessness or needing transitional accommodation.

“That area of housing is vital for our community, and it’s shown to be vital because of the number of homelessness,” Mr Brosnan said.

Three crisis accommodation units are located on private church land in Bega, but the council has determined there is no pathway to approve them. 

Mr Brosnan said the SJA had attempted to get multiple development applications through the council.

A unit home.

Three units that can be folded up and transported by trailer are currently in dispute. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)

He said the council had taken the view that the dwellings were to be classified as “manufactured homes”. 

However, Mr Brosnan said they were too small to fit that classification, and he could not get them registered to be towed on the road.

The SJA lodged a case in the NSW Land and Environment Court against the council over the definitions of their units, and a two-day hearing is scheduled for December.

“We’ve just got to work out a way forward,” Mr Brosnan said.

“I’m certainly not going to knock on the doors and ask those people to leave.”

An older man sitting in a room, staring out in the distance, serious, wears turquoise teem, white cabinets behind.

Mick Brosnan says there is a housing crisis in the Bega Valley. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)

Legislation delays 

The NSW government is considering reforms to the planning legislation around moveable dwellings and caravans.

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure released draft reforms in late 2023, but when questioned by the ABC, it did not say when they would be finalised.

“Reforms for tiny homes and moveable dwellings are still being considered before any final policy decisions are made,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Councils can already approve tiny homes through its relevant approval pathway.

“Separate approval pathways for tiny homes are not necessary because they are considered either buildings, manufactured homes, or caravans, which already have clear approval pathways.”

The department put the responsibility back on local councils to interpret and apply the legislation.

Read more on Australia’s housing market:Challenge for councils

Bega Valley Shire Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said the matter was “not a high priority for the state government”.

“The need is to get a clear definition, otherwise council becomes the meat in the sandwich in the local arguments, as is the case here,” he said.

Cr Fitzpatrick declined to comment on individual cases within the Bega Valley.

A man wearing a suit standing in a park, smiles, balding, dark suit, white shirt, sky dark, clouds.

Russell Fitzpatrick wants the NSW government to clarify how councils should classify tiny homes. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)

However, the council drafted a Local Approvals Policy to create an approval pathway for the SJA’s crisis accommodation units this year, but said in recent council meeting papers that the Department of Planning did not support it as it used ambiguous terms and contained factual inaccuracies. 

“It’s all well and good to say, ‘Oh, they can just implement a Local Planning Act’. Well, it’s not as simple as that,” Cr Fitzpatrick said.

“You’re at the behest of the state government all the time.”

Further north, Shellharbour City Council planned a tiny house pilot last year but told the ABC it was still working through “the complex legislative pathway” and had not been able to start it.

A woman standing in front of greenery, smiles, short dark hair, grey streaks, grey top.

Heather Shearer researches attitudes around tiny homes in Australia. (ABC News: Nicholas McElroy)

Heather Shearer, a researcher with Griffith University’s School of Engineering and Built Environment, said most councils were not averse to tiny homes on wheels, but did not know how to classify them.

“It’s perfectly understandable that councils are reluctant because many councils in Australia have very small budgets. They don’t have a huge number of planners,” Dr Shearer said.

“The onus should be on state and federal governments rather than the councils.”

Ms Shearer said tiny homes would not “solve the housing crisis”, but clearer approval pathways were crucial to help them become a viable option in the country’s housing mix.

Mr Heins and Mr Bohn are also appealing their matter to the Land and Environment Court.

“Everyone talks about the housing crisis. Here’s people … finding small solutions,” Mr Heins said.

“They’re finding little gaps, little edges and niches where they can do something positive. 

“It’s time for change.”