What do the Tiny House Regulations say about long-term tiny house living?
Elle Paton is an experienced tiny houser living in St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria. So strongly does she feel about the environmental and community benefits of tiny houses that Elle left her corporate job to work in tiny-house advocacy.
Elle is also a Co-founder of Tiny Non-Profit, a Co-founder of the Australian Tiny House Association, and most recently, Co-founder of the new platform Littlefoot – a platform for small footprint housing in Australia. She works as a consultant within the industry and heads up the Australian Tiny Houses Facebook Community.
Living in her St Kilda suburban tiny house, from where she works, she is passionate about the sustainability aspect of tiny living and the potential positive social impacts tiny houses have to offer.
Opening her home, both in-person and online, to educational projects, council members and fellow advocates of the industry, Elle is a driven advocate for the Tiny Home Industry, serving consumers, collaborating and educating to strive for a better way forward for small footprint living here in Australia.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Elle’s experiences of tiny house living, including the process of downsizing & transitioning, the challenges and best parts
- The importance of working out your values and needs when building your tiny house
- The current situation with tiny house on wheels (caravan) regulations in Australia
- Elle’s experiences dealing with her local council to get pre-approval for long term living in her tiny house on wheels in an urban environment in St Kilda
- Considerations and things to understand when making a case for local council approval for long-term tiny house living… and more!
If you’re in Australia, I recommend checking out the Australian Tiny House Association’s website on the situation of tiny house on wheels regulations, as it has 3 categories to consider – road and vehicle regulations, building codes and planning & dwelling rules. It also has different information for each state.
If you’re outside Australia, you might want to research and get in touch with the tiny house association in your state or country to find out the situation with tiny house living where you are.
Disclaimer: The information discussed in this conversation is not intended to offer advice to podcast listeners. It is for educational purposes only. Please do your own research and seek professional support before making any big decisions about building or living in your tiny house. Or even better, contact Elle directly for a consultation.
The resource links below regarding information on planning, building, design and construction codes are a general guide as per what was discussed in this episode. Please do your own research in your local council, area, state and country to help you decide what the best path forward is for your tiny house journey.
You can work with Elle and follow her tiny adventures here:
LT: https://linktr.ee/ellepaton
Australian Tiny Houses FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/235074966967710/?ref=share
Tiny Consulting: https://calendly.com/ellepaton/tiny-consultancy-call
Resources mentioned in this conversation:
- Elle’s Tiny House Built By TinyHouse2Go
- Elle’s Composting Toilet
- Composting Toilets – Australian Government Guidelines
- Waterless Toilets – Australian Government Guide to Environmentally Sustainable Homes
- Australian Government Registered and Accredited Waterless Composting Toilet Systems
- Australian Tiny House Association – Tiny House Regulations
- NSW Local Government (Manufactured Home Estates, Caravan Parks, Camping Grounds and Moveable Dwellings) Regulation 2021
- Australian Design Rules
- National Construction Code
- Building Code of Australia
- Development Approval – NSW
- Planning and Building Permit – Victoria
- Australian Tiny House Directory – Council and Regulation Resources
- Tiny House Conversations – Tiny House Insurance Episode
