Our petition to the Bega Valley Shire Councillors is to enact a moratorium on tiny house evictions whilst Council work in consultation with the NSW Government on a pathway to tiny home-ownership to address the current housing crisis.

So much has already been said about the current housing crisis. And if you live in the Bega Valley you will have seen homelessness, limited rental stock, soaring rents and property sale prices all contributing to people living in caravans and other movable dwellings. The sad reality is that many families who love this place are leaving because they cannot afford to stay here any more. 

Two years ago, facing our own financial pressures, we bought a trailer on Facebook Marketplace and our dear friends who own a farm offered help by providing a small corner to move our little home on wheels onto - in return for help on their acreage. We have lived a simple and happy life of work, study, volunteering, and sport, enjoying the best of what the Bega Valley (and Australia!) has to offer. 

Last month, the landowners received a letter from a Bega Valley Shire Council Compliance Officer demanding that we stop using our tiny home as a residential dwelling (describing it as an "unauthorised structure… to be removed or demolished") . They also stated that "non-compliance could result in a $1 million fine + $10,000 for every day we keep living in the tiny - now that's an expensive rental! Additionally, they are liable for a $3000 fine and the cost of councils investigation! You can see the letter through this link. 

To date, the Council Compliance Officer has not even inspected the dwelling or understood the basis on which we reside in the tiny home. There are numerous NSW State Environmental planning policies that give provision for movable dwellings to be used on rural land.

Our concerns are that:

1. Council are directing precious resources to evicting tiny house tenants, rather than focusing on housing solutions that work.
2. Council has failed to work with us constructively and "in good faith" (NSW Local Government Act, 1993).*
3. Council are not taking seriously their own 2023 declaration of a housing crisis in the Bega Valley.
4. A viable solution to the housing crisis is not only being ignored, but fought against.
5. The Bega Valley community will be left behind as other councils move forward with pathways for legal tiny home-ownership (ABC News) 

We are fortunate to be in a position where we can (and will) use our voices to advocate for change on this issue. But we know not everyone is in such a fortunate boat. What happens when Compliance Officers come for a young mother in a tiny home who is fleeing domestic violence? Or for seniors who have nothing left after a bushfire or flood? Or a young person in a caravan escaping homelessness?

To the council we simply say that this is not good enough. 

Our petition to Bega Valley Shire councillors is to enact a moratorium on ALL tiny house evictions until the creation of a realistic pathway for compliance. 

Will you help us raise our voice loud enough that council cannot ignore this issue any longer? Our community deserves a pathway to tiny home-ownership. It is time to act.  

* The reasons we believe that the Compliance Officer did not act professionally or in good faith are as follows: 

1. The letter is dated April 17, but wasn't posted until April 24 and didn't arrive April 30. We were given 21 days to comply. By the time we received the letter we had just 8 days to comply.
2. Councils Compliance Officer claimed to have undertaken an investigation of the structure but had never visited the property to do so. 
3. The letter was sent in DRAFT form.
4. Two copies of the letter were sent, each with slightly different content. 
5. The letter did not refer to the Local Government (manufactured home estates, caravan parks, camping grounds, and moveable dwellings) regulation 2021, which we believe is the legislation governing tiny homes in NSW.