A pilot program aiming to use tiny homes to ease our housing crisis has been given the go-ahead, in what is believed to be an Australian first.
The Shellharbour City Council, on the South Coast of NSW has given the OK for tiny homes to be rented out in its juridiction.
The two-year trial takes away the need to apply for a development application for certain “mobile tiny homes used as rental accommodation in Shellharbour” – according to the council.
“These homes are compact, portable dwellings built on trailers and can be registered as a vehicle under the Road Transport Act 2013.
Local planning rules will be updated and the move has come after extensive public exhibition and community feedback.
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Mayor Chris Homer inside a mobile tiny home. Image courtesy of Shellharbour City Council.
Shellharbour City Council Mayor Chris Homer said the move would help ease local housing pressures.
“This pilot explores new ways to make housing more flexible and accessible, while keeping appropriate planning and safety protections in place,” he said.
“We know housing affordability is a real challenge in our community. This trial gives us the chance to explore a solution in a considered, responsible way and understand what works before making any longer-term decisions.”
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Shellharbour will trial tiny homes.
The council said the trial “will be closely monitored to understand how tiny homes operate in practice, including impacts on neighbourhoods, infrastructure and housing supply”.
It will work in consultation with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to allow the trial to begin in coming months.
At the end of the two-year trial period, Shellharbour City Council – which is located in NSW’s Illawarra region about 100km south of Sydney’s CBD, bordered by Wollongong City to the north, the Municipality of Kiama in the south – will review the results.
Taking into account community feedback and outcomes of the program, the council will then decide to whether to continue, change or end the program.
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A tiny home gypsy style in Shellharbour.
The trial is expected to be closely watched by other councils and other states as tiny homes are increasingly being looked at across the country as a way to help solve Australia’s chronic housing crisis.
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