Petition: Call on Yarra Ranges Council to Allow Caravans and Tiny Homes as Homes in a Housing Crisis

According to an ABC report of 14 July 2025, Yarra Ranges Council recently ordered the demolition or rebuilding of a Tiny House on Wheels — or else eviction — based on Building Code enforcement, not on safety concerns or imminent danger.

This kind of enforcement, carried out during a severe housing crisis, raises serious human rights concerns.

When no safe, legal, and affordable housing alternatives exist, forced evictions without safeguards may violate Australia’s international obligations under:
- Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) — the right to adequate housing;
- Guidelines from the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, which prohibit forced evictions without alternative housing or procedural fairness.

This is not just a legal problem — it’s a moral issue. People are being forced out of safe, modest homes while they have nowhere else to go.

Our Community Is Suffering
We have friends and neighbours who are now living in fear because of the Shire of Yarra Ranges' current enforcement stance toward people living in caravans and Tiny Homes.

In recent weeks alone:
- One woman was evicted and now hides her caravan in the bush.
- A beautiful Tiny Home on Old Warburton Road was dismantled.
- Another resident had to move her Tiny Home into storage and leave the valley.
- Others are living in tents, facing cold winter nights with no protection.

These are not rare stories. This is becoming normal — and it should never be.

Council Has Discretion to Help – Now. 

We believe Yarra Ranges Council has the legal and policy discretion to support temporary, low-impact housing during this crisis.

The Municipal Strategic Statement (Clause 21.03) makes it clear that Green Wedge land is intended to support:
- Low-impact rural living,
- Temporary accommodation, and
- Uses that preserve environmental and agricultural values.

Further, Council has planning discretion to issue permits for:
- Caravans and Tiny Homes on Wheels,
- Based on location, duration, and whether they align with Green Wedge principles.

We also note that Yarra Ranges Councillors have in the past demonstrated great compassion and good judgement in addressing the needs of vulnerable members of our community. However, this recent action appears to be out of sync with those values and with the spirit of past decisions.

We believe that a clear, supportive local policy would allow Council officers to go about their work with both certainty and kindness — enabling them to support community members in a lawful, compassionate, and humane manner.

What We’re Asking For
We respectfully call on Yarra Ranges Council to:

- Immediately begin work on a resolution that allows caravans and Tiny Houses on Wheels to be used as homes during the current housing crisis;
- Engage Professor Arnold Dix, along with a King's Counsel and relevant Council officers, to help draft clear and lawful guidelines to enable this;
- Pause enforcement actions against residents currently living in these types of dwellings while a workable local policy is being finalised.

This request is not for permanent rezoning, but for a temporary and compassionate policy response to an urgent need — one that is within Council’s discretion and in line with its obligations under planning laws and human rights standards.