The REINSW has welcomed Shellharbour Council’s decision to test a new housing model, describing it as the kind of local action needed to address the state’s chronic housing shortage.
Shellharbour Council has moved to initiate a two-year trial of mobile tiny homes as part of a planning reform designed to create more housing options for renters.
The proposal would amend the Shellharbour Local Environmental Plan 2013 so that small, moveable homes built on trailers, which can be registered like a vehicle under the Road Transport Act 2013, could be installed on existing residential properties without the need for a development application, provided strict conditions are met.
The plan still needs approval from the NSW Government.
REINSW chief executive Tim McKibbin said the move shows how councils can help ease the state’s housing pressure rather than waiting for broader policy reform.
“The housing crisis plaguing our state is the result of long-term supply inertia on the part of multiple stakeholders, including governments at all levels,” he said.
“This is an example of a local council understanding it has an important role to play for its community, and taking innovative action.”
Mr McKibbin said that while mobile tiny homes will not suit everyone, they offer valuable alternatives in a market where limited supply is forcing people into housing insecurity.
“Mobile tiny homes will not be suited to everyone, just as large family homes are often not suited to everyone, such as retirees,” he said.
“But at the very least they offer new choices at a time when constrained supply is resulting in many people facing housing insecurity.”
He warned that restrictive planning rules are one of the biggest barriers to new housing and called on other councils to look for similar ways to fast-track supply.
“Prohibitive planning regimes are the enemy of new housing. Innovative planning action is what all councils should be taking,” he said.
“While REINSW will continue to advocate for policy solutions and reforms to address the chronic housing undersupply at a state level, it is incumbent on councils to consider the needs of their own communities and begin thinking outside the box to urgently deliver more housing in their local government areas.”
Mr McKibbin said REINSW has long argued for planning changes that provide developers with more certainty.
The organisation has suggested that councils publish clear definitions of compliant developments so that any application meeting those standards can be approved quickly, reducing delays and increasing housing supply.
The trial is part of a growing push for alternative housing models as NSW grapples with affordability pressures and a rental vacancy rate that has hovered near historic lows.
REINSW says small, movable dwellings could be one way to help meet immediate demand while broader housing reforms work their way through the system.
