Castlemaine’s Rainer Cook Tonkin rates the involvement of friends as one of the best things about building his own tiny house.
But the 19-year-old and his father, Bernard Tonkin, are among a significant number of locals who fear a local laws review now under way may have retrograde outcomes for those hoping to live in tiny houses – or rent them out to others.
Rainer and Bernard are among some 200 people who lodged written submissions regarding tiny houses to the wider local laws review that’s expected to go before Mount Alexander Shire Council for a decision at Tuesday evening’s council meeting.
As part of the review the council is considering changes to the local laws governing camping on private property – something with potentially big implications for relocatable tiny house living.
The proposed new local law would allow people to camp on private property for 21 days only – compared with the 60 days currently allowed – before being required to meet multiple criteria in order to obtain a six-month permit.
“At this stage it appears that our councillors may settle on a local law restricting staying in a tiny house on wheels – technically a caravan, to six weeks,” Bernard Tonkin says.
“A permit for six months would then be possible if a number of very subjective criteria are met and you wouldn’t be able to use one as a rental option.” Read more in the Castlemaine Mail, Friday, September 11, 2020.
