2017-04-11 P&E Agenda Attachment 1 to Item 1 Housing Needs Assessment

Appendix C. New Housing Models/Initiatives for Consideration
Tiny house movement and affordability
The ‘tiny house’ movement began in the late 1990s in the USA in response to housing
affordability issues and sustainable living trends (Shearer 2015). The movement is also active in
Australia, with local tiny house enthusiasts driven by similar ideals of economic freedom and
environmental sustainability (Shearer 2015).

Heather Shearer (2015) has conducted research into the motivations, benefits and limitations of
tiny houses in relation to affordable living issues in Australia. Although the research is ongoing,
she notes a number of findings based on pilot research involving a questionnaire, semi-structured
interviews and social media analysis:

       The top three drivers for building a tiny house for respondents of the survey were: the
        desire for freedom, to reduce overall costs and for sustainable living.
       The top three barriers to building a tiny house for respondents were: that land is too
        expensive, regulation is complex and planning scheme barriers (followed by building code
        barriers and other legal issues).
       The qualitative analysis (social media analysis and discussions with enthusiasts) similarly
        found that the interest in the tiny house movement was predominately influenced by
        housing affordability and economic issues, with a number of respondents fearful of
        becoming homeless.
       Barriers to building a tiny house expressed in the qualitative analysis included economic
        issues also, including: where to locate the house and high land prices, insufficient cash,
        how to access mortgage finance, and lack of capital gains.

In relation to these findings, Shearer notes the following additional research findings:
       Small houses and temporary houses exist already in Australia, including granny flats,
        converted sheds, relocatable homes, beach shacks, caravans and even houseboats.
       Planning scheme regulations tend to restrict additional dwellings, temporary occupation
        and the number of houses per lot. There are also regulations around land subdivision
        sizes, minimum house sizes, dual occupancy restrictions, water and power connection
        requirements, infrastructure charges, etc. which impact the affordability of tiny houses, or
        encourage people to bypass these regulations by building moveable dwellings. Tiny
        houses are generally less than 40m2 and are often built on a mobile foundation due to
        legal and financial constraints (rather than for mobility).
       Due to unaffordable land options and planning constraints, tiny houses might be more
        commonly built or placed in backyards, on the urban fringe or in rural areas – which may
        contribute to longer commutes and other impacts which reduce their affordability and
        sustainability credentials.
       Sourcing mortgage funding and insurance for non-conventional or temporary dwellings
        can be an issue (so generally a higher interest loan than a regular mortgage), and land
        sharing arrangements can create issues in relation to tenure, future resale, and first home
        owner’s grants and stamp duty concessions.
       Although there are a number of people interested in the movement and involved in social
        media groups (such as Facebook groups etc.), few of the participants in these groups had
        actually built tiny houses or were living in them.




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