Sunshine Coast Council’s temporary housing response criticised as inadequate

Angela Smith has lived in a portable tiny home on a rural property with her two young boys for the past six months. 

But she faces an uncertain future after learning Sunshine Coast Council requires people to apply for a permit to live in temporary accommodation on someone’s land.

The permit costs $514 and only lasts 18 months for portable tiny homes and caravans, and six months for cars and vans.

The council does not generally approve more than one 18-month extension to the permits because it says “the temporary home is not designed to be a permanent solution”.

Ms Smith said that left her in limbo.

“[It] makes us really hesitant to put our roots down, knowing that someone can come along at any moment and say ‘you need to leave here’,” she said.

Ms Smith said she was happy living a simpler, self-sufficient life and would like to remain long-term.

“It’s a shame that we’re told ‘no, you can’t do that’,” she said.

“Because we do have a beautiful home and it’s built to Australian standards … and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to live that way.”

The council voted last week to waive the fee for people facing “extraordinary circumstances including housing stress and financial hardship or other compassionate reasons”. 

But housing advocates say it is an inadequate response to the rental crisis gripping the region.

‘I had no hope’

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Angela Smith lives in a tiny home after becoming a casualty of the rental crisis. (Supplied: Jacqueline Morton)

Ms Smith said she rented a “beautiful home” in Buderim until six months ago.

But she knew she’d have trouble finding somewhere to live when the owner said they were selling up.

“When I realised what the rental market looks like, I just had no hope,” she said.

“[It was] the first time in my life I had not felt security that I was going to step into another beautiful place.”

She decided to buy a tiny home on wheels.

The “last piece of the puzzle” was finding somewhere to park it.

That’s when she found Jacqueline Morton through a mutual friend.

Ms Morton, who owns land in Belli Park, west of Eumundi in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, said she had many people contact her asking to park their van or tiny home on her property.

“I turned away a lot of people initially,” she said. 

Restrictions on land use

Ms Morton said the council’s authority to restrict people staying in a caravan on private property was “an extremely intrusive law”. 

“They own their caravan, they own their property, and here’s council dictating you can only have someone in that personal property on your personal property for four weeks in a 52-week period,” she said.

The council’s guidelines state the permit is required for safety and to ensure the temporary dwelling “works” in the neighbourhood.

The fee waiver is only temporary and expires on June 30, but a council spokeswoman said officers “intend to include a reduced fee option” for the 2023-24 financial year.

Ms Morton said people were choosing tiny homes as their permanent home.

“The permit council voted on … does not give the people living in tiny homes any housing security,” she said.

Housing advocate Helen Andrew, who has campaigned on the issue, said the council’s response was “a little bit like virtue signalling”. 

“It’s a little bit of an empty promise … ‘Hey, look at me, I’m doing something’ but it’s not enough, it’s not what the community is looking for.”

“All these people on the Sunshine Coast that are finding tiny homes [and] buses to live in permanently are in this no man’s land, and if a neighbour complains council is on to them and that creates more distress for people.”

Ms Andrew estimated there were “hundreds” of temporary dwellings throughout the region but the council only investigated when a neighbour complained.

A council spokeswoman said 11 temporary home applications had been lodged in the past 12 months, and nine permits had been approved.

Councillor Christian Dickson said the priority was to ensure everyone was safe.

“While it is important we support people who need to access a temporary home, council also has obligations to protect and manage health and safety, the environment, and reduce impacts on nearby properties and public spaces,” he said.

Ms Andrew said forcing applicants to prove extenuating circumstances to receive the fee waiver was an “extra impediment”. 

Article source: Queensland Property Investor