The long running battle between Bega Valley Shire Council and a local landowner over the hosting of a tiny house on wheels will move closer to resolution this week.
A two day hearing is scheduled in the Land and Environment Court including another site visit to the Coolagolite property.
The council issued an eviction notice in April last year, which is being challenged in a lengthy and costly legal fight.
Joshua Heins, who lives in the tiny home with his partner Manu, said the bill to challenge the council’s eviction notice is adding up.
“The cost of going to the Land and Environment Court has been massive, which we knew upfront will be an expensive process,” Mr Heins said.
“We’re expecting that the two day hearing is going to cost another $40,000 and that covers getting a barrister, paying for solicitors getting town planners, expert witnesses, environmental experts to attend the court and support our case,” he said.
“We’ve spoken to dozens of people in similar situations to us in tiny homes, people who are really afraid that the council, their council, other councils might take similar action, or people who have been threatened with similar action,” Mr Heins said.
“The fact is that councils like Bega Valley Shire, are taking action against tiny home people, that action is inconsistent. It’s not happening to everyone but the fact that the legislation is applied inconsistently,” he said.
“It means that people with tiny homes are living in fear and it’s stopping people from wanting to live tiny, which is a great sustainable housing option. We all know how hard it is to get a house. This is great option.
“We’re really hoping that with our case we can set a really positive precedent. That’s why it’s really important that we win because this case is much bigger than us. It’s got to do with so many people across New South Wales who are living in tiny homes who are living in caravans, whether that’s temporary accommodation, whether that’s young couples who are trying to get ahead, whether that’s older people who, this is part of their retirement plan.
“This is a way that they can have safe and dignified houses, whether it’s people, post, bushfire, whatever the situation is. These little homes are part of the housing mix. They already are and they’re really important and it’s important for us to set a positive precedence.
“So we’re asking for people to help donate to our campaign. If we can recover our funds, we’ll donate that money back to a local charity supporting homelessness in our region but we’re hoping that we can use that money to set a really positive precedent for a lot of people.
At the time of publication the campaign had raised just over $13,500.
