As the housing crisis hits hard, the appeal of Tiny Homes On Wheels has risen.
The My Home Network has established a Tiny Homes On Wheels working group to work towards improving the appropriate uptake of THOW in Mount Alexander Shire.
Group member Tom Danby said that while THOWs were not for everyone, for some community members it was their only affordable housing option and it provided infill housing and built community.
As one elder in the community explains:
“I am 68 years old on a zero hours contract and a month-to-month rental lease paying $400 a week, which is incredibly stressful. I am not eligible for social housing, and want to get out of renting.
“I have worked all my life, paid my bills and just want somewhere I can afford, feel at home, have more time with family and feel the magic inside of me.
“I can’t afford a secondary dwelling but I can afford a THOW. I am hoping to buy one and I can put it in my daughter’s backyard so I can be near family and be in my community.”
Nearly two years ago, Mount Alexander Shire Council amended the Local Law No 13 allowing a THOW to be placed and remain on land with an existing permanent dwelling, without a permit, for “an indefinite period of time” as long as it complies with local law conditions.
The My Home Network THOW working group appreciates council’s leadership in changing the local law. They feel this has had a positive impact on increasing housing diversity.
The THOW working group:
• Shares information and supports people interested in THOW, including with sharing THOW owner/occupier expertise
• Supports matching those who own or occupy a THOW with those who have a suitable location for the THOW
• Advocates with others such as the Australian Tiny House Association for clear, consistent and practical THOW regulations and policy frameworks at the state and national levels.
• Is exploring THOW as a ‘caretaker’ model and the possibility of THOW small clusters on vacant land.
Western Australia is leading the way in addressing THOW uptake as a viable option to address the housing affordability crisis. This could provide a model for other states to follow.
The working group has developed a confidential survey (www.surveymonkey.com/r/THOWSurvey) to better understand:
• the number of THOWs currently being lived in or being built in the Mount Alexander Shire
• the level of interest in THOW as an affordable housing option in Mount Alexander Shire
• the benefits of a THOW and
• any barriers to living in a THOW and what supports people think they might need to make the transition, and sustain, a THOW arrangement.
This anonymous information will be used in advocacy locally, state-wide and nationally to improve appropriate uptake of THOW as affordable housing in the Mount Alexander Shire and elsewhere.
Residents are asked to complete the survey and anyone interested in learning more about the work of the THOW working group or My Home Network can contact cneilson@castlemainehealth.org.au
