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Here are a couple of experiences with inconsistent Council rules etc, around tiny homes....
A retired electrician and surgical technician (Peter Montgomery) looked after his sick daughter for 6 years - using up all his retirement savings. After she died, he couldn't afford to rent, so when offered a flat piece of land on a lifestyle block, he meticulously built a high-quality tiny home for himself. Thinking he's done the right thing - i.e., it's weathertight, and he followed the building code etc. - well, a council employee spotted it from the road and told management - who told him it had to go.
Now Peter is hanging on by the skin of his teeth to keep his tiny home. The council wants it 'gone' but acknowledges their one dwelling per property is not ideal. However, rules are rules and until they change, it's likely Peter will lose his home.
In the same article, a woman orders a tiny home from Auckland, and she was told is 'moveable' and has all its compliance certificates etc - so she gets it delivered to Tauranga, and once there, she's told...
(Kaye didn't think she needed consent because it was moveable). The council say - no it must be a permanent structure.[/QUOTE]
So much for the 3 dwellings per property housing policy. There needs to be consistency in Council rules regarding tiny homes, the number of dwellings, and the consent process.
cheers,
Donna
A retired electrician and surgical technician (Peter Montgomery) looked after his sick daughter for 6 years - using up all his retirement savings. After she died, he couldn't afford to rent, so when offered a flat piece of land on a lifestyle block, he meticulously built a high-quality tiny home for himself. Thinking he's done the right thing - i.e., it's weathertight, and he followed the building code etc. - well, a council employee spotted it from the road and told management - who told him it had to go.
When Reid (lifestyle block owner) bought the property, it was within the Ōpōtiki District, where the council allows up to three dwellings on each property.
Since then, it has been transferred to the Whakatāne District, where the district plan restricts dwellings to one property, regardless of size.
Since then, it has been transferred to the Whakatāne District, where the district plan restricts dwellings to one property, regardless of size.
In the same article, a woman orders a tiny home from Auckland, and she was told is 'moveable' and has all its compliance certificates etc - so she gets it delivered to Tauranga, and once there, she's told...
Despite the tiny home coming with all the compliance certificates required by Auckland City Council where it had been built, Kay was given a list of items from Whakatāne District Council to tick off before she could apply for consent.
Among the list of things that need doing - was installing a new septic tank, as the one she had planned to connect to was not compliant. She then needed to engage a geotechnical engineer to prepare a ground compliance report, which took three months.
“I now have to engage another engineer to design the foundation. I resubmit my application for consent from the Whakatāne District Council, and of course, when I get that back, only then does all the work start. So, I’ve been homeless for six months and it looks like I will be for quite a few months ahead of me.
“I now have to engage another engineer to design the foundation. I resubmit my application for consent from the Whakatāne District Council, and of course, when I get that back, only then does all the work start. So, I’ve been homeless for six months and it looks like I will be for quite a few months ahead of me.
cheers,
Donna