NSW charity seeks approvals for tiny homes homelessness project in Southern Highlands

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Tiny homes project in Southern Highlands

Highlights

Lydia's Legacy's plan to place tiny homes in the Southern Highlands faces delays due to NSW and Wingecarribee Shire Council planning restrictions on occupancy.
Local housing pressure remains acute, with priority social housing wait times at about five years and 72 people homeless per night in the region last financial year.
Each 8m x 2.5m tiny home costs up to $150,000 to build and $8,000 annually for infrastructure and insurance, with landowners gaining ownership after 10 years.

Planning barriers stall pilot rollout

As reported by ABC News, not-for-profit Lydia's Legacy is trying to launch a pilot that would place tiny homes on privately owned rural land in the Southern Highlands, with backing from a local landowner and support services, but says council and state planning settings are preventing the project from proceeding.

Chairman Paul Riley says Wingecarribee Shire Council does not clearly recognise a tiny home on wheels because it is built to a different standard, while NSW rules allow tiny homes but restrict full-time occupancy unless residents are part of the main household or are escaping a natural disaster. Riley argues homelessness should qualify as a crisis that justifies more flexible housing use.

The NSW Department of Planning, Housing Infrastructure says it is progressing policy work in line with its response to the parliamentary inquiry into rural housing and secondary dwellings. The department says secondary dwellings and dual occupancies could provide more flexible living arrangements for people experiencing housing stress or homelessness, while Wingecarribee Shire Council says it has no specific tiny homes policy and has advised Lydia's Legacy to monitor state-level changes.

Housing pressure sharpens local need

Local service providers say the proposal could ease pressure in a market where affordable housing is scarce despite the region's relative wealth. St Vincent de Paul says about 72 people a night are homeless in the Southern Highlands in the last financial year, including people living in cars, in the bush and couch surfing.

Argyle Housing CEO Carolyn Doherty says the initiative could help reduce immediate pressure on a record-high social housing waitlist, with priority housing waits at about five years and average waits at more than 10 years. Under the model, Argyle Housing would oversee the tenant waitlist and St Vincent de Paul's Southern Highlands Homelessness Service would manage the homes.

Lydia's Legacy says a local builder could complete each 8-metre by 2.5-metre tiny home in about eight weeks, with charitable donations and philanthropy covering build costs of up to $150,000. Participating landowners would pay for plumbing, electricity, sewer, council fees and insurance of up to $8,000 a year, and could take ownership of the home after a decade.

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