Sunshine Coast Local Law
Tiny Homes on Wheels (THOWs), caravans and converted buses are classed as temporary accommodations by councils across Australia. Local laws were established to manage them many years ago when these types of accommodations were used temporarily while the residents were building a traditional home. These local laws are no longer fit for purpose as many people are choosing to live in them permanently.
Traditional vs Non-Traditional
We will use these terms regularly in our communication. A traditional home is a home that is attached to the land. The land and house are coupled together. They are your standard 3/4 bedroom home, granny flat, unit or townhouse. In contrast, a non-traditional home is not attached to the land and is de-coupled from the land. You may own the house but not the land it is hosted on. As soon as you attach your home to the land, planning schemes are triggered, and you must comply with the building and plumbing codes for certification. The challenge is that when a non-traditional home is attached to the land, it will not be able to comply with the codes and, therefore, will not receive certification.
Local Laws
When temporary accommodation was used while building a traditional home, it was managed by council local laws. Each council has different local laws, but effectively, they all allow a non-permit time for you to live in a home on wheels for a few weeks to a couple of months. After that period, you will need a permit to extend that period. A few councils have recognised that these non-traditional housing choices are long-term choices and have removed the need for a permit, allowing their resident to live in them permanently.
Sunshine Coast Local Law
Like many councils across Australia, Sunshine Coast Council has a local law that manages the use of temporary accommodation; it is called the “Establishment or occupation of a temporary home”. When they say temporary accommodation, they mean:
a tiny home on wheels that is not fixed to the ground with tie-downs, chains or not connected to plumbing pipes or fixed electrical (no extension leads);
a motor home or recreational vehicle;
a bus or caravan;
a car, van, vehicle or other modified vehicle as a place of residence; and
a tent with a floor area of less than 100m2.
The local law does not apply to granny flats, converted shipping containers, tiny homes not on wheels, or Class 1A sheds. These types of accommodation fall under the planning scheme.
The local law is designed to manage a temporary home, not one used permanently. You can live in a home on wheels for 4 weeks in a 52-week period without a permit if there is an existing house on the property or 2 weeks in a 52-week period if on vacant land. If you wish to live it for longer than 4 weeks, you must get a permit, extending the time to 18 months. At the end of the permit, you must move on as Sunshine Coast Council does not extend the permit beyond 18 months. You can live in a vehicle for no more than 6 months and a tent for no more than 3 months. Check out the Temporary home guideline that Sunshine Coast Council has produced.
The Permit
The Sunshine Coast Council 2024/25 Healthy Places Temporary Home Application is required for them to approve a permit for 18 months. You will be asked questions about the property's address, owner details of the property, position on the property, purpose of the application, management of waste, the people living in it, access to water and storage, screening, vehicles and a detailed site plan.
An environmental health officer will process your application and may request a visit. It will take 2-4 weeks to process. You will have 18 months to live in your temporary home upon approval. There is a $540 application fee, which may be reduced if you are experiencing financial hardship.
The Housing Crisis
We argue that the current local law and permit process is not longer fit for purpose. These mechanisms were developed in a time when people where using ‘temporary’ accommodation while they built their traditional home or when they were a site caretaker for a short period of time. But we are living in very different times, we are living through the greatest cost of living/housing crisis of our time. Homes and rents are no longer affordable. A recent article has tipped the Sunshine Coast and greater South East Queensland to be an exclusive real estate corridor in 2025 pushing median house value through the roof.
It is no longer affordable to live in a traditional home, so people are looking for alternatives so they can put a roof over their heads. This need has spurred the growth of non-traditional housing as a permanentent choice. We believe that the house a person chooses to live in, if safe and respectful to neighbours, should be respected and made legal so they can experience the same housing security as anyone choosing a traditional home.
We have written and provided the Sunshine Coast Council with an alternative local law that would give housing security during this escalating housing crisis. They responded that they can not implement it because it contravenes an existing state law, yet when we asked the Queensland Government, they clarified that Queensland Councils have jurisdiction over local laws. So we find ourselves ‘piggy in the middle’ while state and local bounce the responsibility to each other.
Taking Action
Our goal for 2025 is to change the rules and allow people who choose to live in a home on wheels legally longterm while allowing landowners to host more than one home on wheels on their land. You can help by supporting our campaign in the following ways:
Download a petition and become a lead petitioner
Share our website and social media channels with your community; awareness is key
Email your local and state elected representative and let them know you want to see change.
With your help we can make our goal a reality and giving housing security to many of our family and friends.