Josh Heins and his partner moved into a tiny house to save money.
Now it could cost them a small fortune in legal fees as they fight council eviction orders.
The NSW couple were ordered to remove or demolish their home by Bega Valley Shire Council, which deemed it an ‘unauthorised structure’.
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Failure to do so could cost them up to $1 million in fines.
But Heins argues their tiny house on wheels (THOW) falls under vehicle regulations, not building rules.
Now the matter has been escalated to the Land and Environment Court of NSW, where Heins has been told even “simple” case can cost up to $25,000 to resolve.
“We’ve had to divert all of our energy to this thing that just honestly feels like a waste of time,” Heins told 9news.com.au.
“To be completely honest, it’s a shit show.”
And with no clear rules around how tiny houses fit into the Australia’s national, state or local regulations, he fears other vulnerable Aussies could be left homeless.
Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at mleach@nine.com.au
The tiny house grey area
Heins and his partner aren’t the only Aussies who moved into a THOW to cope with the housing crisis.
In the ten years to March 2025, median advertised rents in Australia jumped by almost 50 per cent and 1.26 million low-income households were in financial housing stress in 2024-25.
Tiny houses – compact, mobile homes typically built on wheels or trailers – seemed to some like the perfect solution.
They can be relatively cheap to buy or build (compared to a house or unit) and can be set up on private property in areas where housing is limited.
But rules for tiny houses differ across states, territories, and local council areas and can be difficult to decode.
9news understands the biggest concern for councils is resident safety, especially in fire and flood prone areas, and they enforce compliance orders with this in mind.
THOWs don’t currently have to be built to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) because they don’t fit the building classified in the BCA.
In NSW, they’re not defined in state legislation and may be subject to a number of building or vehicle regulations.
These rules may be enforced differently from council to council.
In Victoria, current planning and building legislation does not allow THOW to be used as permanent dwellings unless they meet strict requirements.
They typically need both a building permit and, in many cases, a planning permit (especially if connected to services and infrastructure like electricity).
Some Victorian councils have removed the need for some permits, while others strictly enforce these requirements.
But owners and councils don’t always see eye to eye on how these rules should be enforced.
Demolish or face $1 million in fines
Heins and partner Manu Bohn built their THOW on a friend’s property two years ago.
Believing their home classified as a caravan, they did not seek council permission or apply for a development approval for it.
The goal was to save enough money to one day buy property of their own.
”Living in a tiny home gave us an opportunity to get ahead for the future. It’s the classic ‘having a go,'” Heins said.
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Instead, they were slapped with a draft order to remove or demolish the home in accordance with NSW Environmental Planning legislation in May 2025.
Failure to comply would result in legal proceedings and up to $1 million in fines.
Bega Valley Council claimed it was an “unauthorised structure being used as a residential dwelling” and was subject to the same regulations as any other building.
Bega Valley Shire Council’s director of Community, Environment and Planning, Emily Harrison told 9news tiny homes on private property in the council area typically require Development Application (DA) approval, as well as s68 approval under the Local Government Act 1993 to be compliant.
But Heins insists his home is a vehicle (caravan) and the rules the council is trying to enforce don’t apply.
Harrison said caravans are typically only exempt from needing a DA if it used by a member of the household in association with the primary dwelling on the property.
After months of back and forth trying to resolve the issue, Bega Valley Council issued final orders and the matter was escalated to the Land and Environment Court of NSW.
Now Heins is facing a lengthy legal battle he’s been told could cost upwards of $25,000.
”Once a council have issued compliance orders, the only way to challenge [it] is to make an appeal to the court, which is obviously a huge rigmarole,” he said.
“We believe that the dwelling is a caravan, so we’re really hopeful that we’ll have a positive outcome.”
If their appeal fails, he and Bohn will be forced back into NSW’s competitive rental market, where the median weekly rent has spiked from $480 to $650 in the last six years.
They’ll also be thousands of dollars poorer.
But theirs is a battle not everyone can afford to fight.
‘We realised that we’d lost’
Evrim Sen and her partner lived in a THOW on private property in Victoria’s Yarra Ranges for almost three years before being ordered to demolish it.
They wanted to ”build a life together and have kids” there.
Instead, they were ordered to demolish it unless it could be made to meet Victoria’s building code – which Sen said would have required them to rebuild from scratch.
Sen argued her home was a vehicle and therefore not subject to Victoria’s building code.
“[Council] told us that we had until the end of July to leave or they’d take us to court,” she told 9news.
Yarra Ranges Council told 9news it works closely with tiny house owners to explain permit requirements and find pathways to resolve any known breaches.
“However, if a resident refuses the requests to obtain the necessary permits, given the potential health and safety risks, Council must take action to resolve the breach, it cannot simply ignore it,” a spokesperson said.
“Council has a legal responsibility to ensure that the community is safe and that includes the properties they choose to live in.”
Sen’s only other option was to appeal the council’s order through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Unable to afford a costly legal journey, she and her partner abandoned their THOW.
“It takes a toll on you to just keep fighting endlessly,” she said.
“You can’t just keep putting resources towards it forever … we realised that we’d lost the battle.”
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They were thrust back into Victoria’s rental market, where the median weekly rent was $520 in April.
They found housing, but others aren’t so fortunate.
“A lot of people living in tiny houses are much worse off, they have less options financially,” Sen said.
“Some are single mums and if they got found out or dobbed in, they’d be in a terrible situation.”
Desperate need for change and clarity
Tiny house owners around the country are demanding more clarity around the national, state and local legislation pertaining to their homes.
For Heins, that means clearer definitions of what is a building and what is a vehicle.
“There needs to be state government change pretty urgently to stop this unfair, inconsistent compliance action,” he said.
“The state government needs to give some guidance that supports these dwellings, because clearly the community support these dwellings.”
He and Bohn started a change.org petition demanding a moratorium on tiny house evictions in NSW until a clear, safe, and legal pathway for tiny home-ownership is established, which attracted almost 30,000 signatures.
Tomorrow, Bega Valley Shire Council will vote on the petition.
Heins plans to gather with supporters at the council office to show the petition ‘isn’t just a piece of paper’ but a demand for compassion in the housing crisis.
“Council keeps saying that they need more clarity from the state government,” he said.
“We’re saying to them, while we’re all waiting for that clarity, how about you don’t pursue any compliance orders that would leave residents without a home.”
Harrison said Council is advocating to the NSW Government to simplify and modernise the legislative framework around moveable dwellings.
“While the NSW Government has indicated that modernising current legislation is no longer a priority, we remain committed to advocating for change and ensuring an appropriate supply of housing exists for those in need,” she said.
In Victoria, Sen is advocating for similar change – and Yarra Ranges Council is on board.
A spokesperson told 9news rural councils across the state are advocating for the State Government to take the lead to address tiny house ownership.
“We’ve written to the State Building Surveyor and Minister for Planning, urging each department to consider changes that would allow these housing types to be legally used as permanent dwellings in appropriate circumstances,” they said.
“Until State legislation changes, Council is unable to permit these structures as homes unless they comply with current legislation and regulations, and there is no immediate alternative to legislative reform.”
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