Tiny homes: a possible opportunity

To all residents of my home state of Victoria (in Australia): if you're interested in tiny homes or small, more appropriate homes, a review has commenced into regulations for "caravans and mobile homes" which may open an opportunity for advocacy.

I am currently preparing a submission - due by 23rd June, 2019, and urge others with a similar interest to consider doing so.

I will post a copy of my submission after 23rd June, as I consider others should write their thoughts, not mine.

One note of caution is that I have not finished reading all the details as yet, and thus there may be something which precludes my submission, in which case I will send it to the relevant Minister and regret the lost opportunity.

 The invitation is at https://engage.vic.gov.au/caravan-parks-regulations-sunset-review.

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 It's a few hours early, but in the end I went with a simple form entry rather than the more complex document I had started working on. My submission is below.

What do you think about caravan park registration requirements?

This can include length of registration period, documents required, suggested categories of registration. Feedback can relate to caravan parks as a whole, or different types of park.

No comment

What do you think about caravan park safety requirements?

This can include fire safety requirements and reports, emergency management plans, flood risks, safety of common areas. This can relate to caravan parks as a whole, or different types of park.

No comment

What do you think about the facilities that are/should be required in caravan parks?

This can include required number of toilet and shower units, standards for water quality, lighting, rubbish, or the maintenance of facilities. This can relate to caravan parks as a whole, or different types of park.

No comment

What do you think about movable dwellings standards?

This can include construction, installation, and compliance requirements. 'Unregisterable movable dwellings' includes cabins and dwellings in residential villages, but does not include caravans.

The following comments are based on owner-built (and for those people, it would be extremely beneficial for a single and readily accessible document detailing all applicable requirements in an understandable way for the lay person, as the construction document is the first time I have been able to find these) or built-for-an-owner tiny home.

This should include tiny homes, however tiny homes can be transported by truck / trailer, so they do NOT necessarily have to be registerable.

Tiny homes have been designed by architects, so they are capable of being built to most building requirements EXCEPT size. However, if building to higher standards is made COMPULSORY, the low cost advantages of tiny homes is lost, and they become useless as a means to prevent or address homelessness. Also, the tiny home market could potentially be used to help cater for downturns in the larger house market - provided they are affordable. (It is unlikely that this will become a major portion of the market, as the number of people who wish to live this way is a small, but unknown percentage of the total housing market.)

What SHOULD be made compulsory is means of securing them in high wind, and (unless they will only be use in a park with adequate facilities), for wastewater, a composting toilet / onboard WwTP (e.g., small MBR) / holding tank - the latter of which should also include grey water. In addition, tiny homes can be constructed to be fire resistant - see, for instance, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2FyCO9FJ-s

With regard to environmental standards, the main benefit is their small size, and thus more stringent requirements for insulation may be counter-productive as they will result in fewer people being able to pursue this option. Similarly, minimum sizes would be counterproductive (and, frankly, absurd, as the small size is one of the key attractions - and those advocating for imposition of a minimum size should be careful they are not trying to impose their preferences and comfort zones on a small percentage of people who are genuinely OK not living in a semi-palace).

Expert inspection during construction would be useful if inspectors had the attitude of trying to enable / aid those building tiny homes - but it is vital that flexibility be allowed (e.g., GRP construction / steel frames may be used at some stage, if not already).

For the tiny homes in this category, universal design should no more be imposed than for private larger, fixed dwellings. However, if the tiny home is publicly owned (e.g., as part of a homelessness project), universal design would be appropriate.

Do you have any other feedback on how the current regulations are working, or suggested changes?

If you have any other feedback, or are unsure where to include your feedback, please provide it here.

As has been shown in some overseas cities, allowing people to have tiny homes in their backyards can be a quick way to address homelessness and aid those at risk of homelessness. This also allow homeowners to gain a source of income by renting space, with minimal cost (connection to sewer, and possibly water and power).

The developments of tiny homes also shows it is possible to live comfortably in much smaller places than the current range of palaces on offer in most areas, and some houses have been built using tiny home principles - for instance, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPBDPcqfCwA Smaller houses would result in an IMMEDIATE reduction of both construction and operating GHG emissions (and costs), so ALL area requirements should be reviewed with the intention of reducing the area requirements to around half of what they are now.

It would also be useful if all surveys on the size of dwellings desired by people included guidance on likely costs, so that such surveys don't show unrealistic pipe dreams.

For those who cannot build their own tiny home, ways of encouraging the market to move into this in a reasonable way (especially during downturns for conventional houses) would be beneficial.