Josh Heins and Manu Bohn and their tiny home on wheels. Photos: Supplied.
The couple living in a tiny home on a trailer have been given 90 days to remove or demolish it.
The home is parked on a friend’s rural property in the Bermagui/Cobargo area.
Bega Valley Shire Council issued two orders to the landowners on Friday (27 June). The first was to stop residing in the structure and the second was to remove or demolish the structure.
Josh Heins who lives in the tiny home with his partner said the only legal basis the council has quoted for why the structure requires a development application (DA) is the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW).
“Section 1.4 of that Act excludes mobile dwellings from the definition of a building, so we don’t understand what part of the Act we are violating,” he said.
Mr Heins has written to council’s CEO Anthony McMahon, asking that the order be revoked based on procedural fairness violations by council staff and “because we haven’t been given a proper legal understanding of the order and therefore can’t comply”.
The council has said it “has to follow state planning laws and take action“, but Mr Heins said councils have discretion not to enforce laws if it was in the public interest.
He pointed to Section 5 of the NSW Ombudsman Guide to Enforcement for Local Councils 2015 which says that “in the council context discretionary powers operate in such a way that while a council has a responsibility to enforce a law, this does not mean there is a legal obligation to enforce the law in all cases”.
The tiny home, which is less than 13 square metres, is sitting on a trailer. Photo: Supplied.
Council’s community, environment and planning director Emily Harrison told the latest council meeting that the starting point for a DA is $20,000, which Mr Heins said was prohibitive for many of the people who were living in caravans, tiny homes or other crisis accommodation.
“If council could come up with an alternative pathway, say $2000 instead of $20,000, that’s much more reasonable for structures that may only be there for a year or two,” he said.
Mr Heins said he felt blindsided when he received the order because he was meeting with the Mayor, CEO and staff in mid-July to advocate about tiny homes. He said the property owners, who pay rates, had been denied the opportunity to meet with compliance staff.
He said all options were open including appealing to the NSW Land and Environment Court, although this costs $25,000 on average.
His research found that the council had lost 80 per cent of cases brought against it in the Land and Environment Court, Appeals Court and District Courts between 2020 and 2025. Additionally, council reported 3252 infringement notices in 2024, up from 1006 in 2023.
“We have 28 days to appeal, but obviously hope we can resolve the matter before that,” Mr Heins said.
“My letter to the CEO said that based on community support – we have more than 23,000 signatures on our petition – and multiple procedural violations, revoking the order is the only ethical thing to do. To pursue it is embarrassing for the council.”
Mick Brosnan of Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast and Kylie Furnell from SEWACS Youth Accommodation Program are advocating for equity in the shire’s housing situation. Photo: Ian Campbell.
In a press release in mid-June, council called for the NSW Government to urgently announce and implement essential reforms to clarify the status of tiny homes and other portable dwellings.
Mick Brosnan of the Social Justice Advocates (SJA) of the Sapphire Coast was in a meeting of council’s Affordable Housing Implementation Group about a fortnight ago. The CEO announced he had been told that the NSW Government wasn’t prioritising the review of the legislation.
“The council had been waiting on and depending on that review. Council is now acting on its own, knowing that review may be years away, so we are relying on the council to respond to the needs of the community,” Mr Brosnan said.
There could have been a way forward with a draft Local Approvals Policy that was put forward by Councillor Simon Daly late last year. However, it was rejected and council staff prepared their own.
Mr Brosnan said the Local Approvals Policy did not address crisis housing.
“So, we are now more than ever reliant on the council to bring some justice and dignity to some people who need it and to bring some equity into the housing situation in our shire.”
SJA has been providing crisis accommodation, principally caravans, for more than 12 years. Mr Brosnan wants the crisis accommodation discussion with council and NSW Government to expand beyond caravans to include alternatives like tiny homes.
“For dignity and sustainability, we have to get past caravans,” Mr Brosnan said.
“We don’t want the American trailer parks.”
