Tiny homes are the new alternative lifestyle dream, so why are they a still a bureaucratic nightmare to organise?

Key points: Tiny houses growing in popularity but still small in number

Tiny houses growing in popularity but still small in number Uncertainty surrounds planning regulations in different councils and state-to-state

Uncertainty surrounds planning regulations in different councils and state-to-state More information getting out to potential owners and decision-makers

Originating in the US, tiny houses on wheels are fast attracting fans here in Australia.

But for those who want to capture the freedom that comes with a tiny home, many people are finding themselves trapped in red tape.

There are about 200 in the country, according to the Australian Tiny House Association.

But that is just an estimate because technically tiny houses on wheels "don't exist" since they are often registered as trailers rather than permanent dwellings.

Sustainable housing consultant Valerie Bares said without their own housing category or building code, there was little certainty for Australia's aspiring tiny-home owners.

"A lot of what puts people off is the fact that there's a lot of uncertainty from a planning regulation perspective," she said.

"They're not sure whether they'll be allowed to do it so they're not willing to take that next step and actually go ahead and make that investment."

This 18sqm Queensland house has a self-composting toilet and demountable deck. ( ABC News: Andree Withey )

Treated like caravans

Tiny Non-profit board member and Tiny House on Wheels (THOW) advocate Katherine Leong said without legislation, tiny houses on wheels were treated like caravans.

"Which means there's a limited time people can actually stay on their properties and live in it," she said.

This presented a major problem for anyone wanting to actually make a life in a tiny house on wheels.

Newer to Australia, these cute little homes are more commonly seen in Netflix shows and Instagram posts, not legal planning documents.

This can give the impression that it is fine to buy or build a little home and put it on some land long-term. But it is often not the case.

Councils not always keen on tiny houses

Valerie Bares and Rikki Pieters had just started their eco-housing consultancy two years ago when a couple of architects came to them.

Living in a friend's Brisbane backyard in a tiny house they had built, they were told by their council to get a building permit or move out.

Canberra woman Julie Bray's tiny house on wheels. ( Supplied: Julie Bray )

Without anyone to help them, they asked Ms Bares and Ms Pieters to assist with an appeal.

"We were successful and we became instant celebrities in the tiny house movement," Ms Bares said.

New to THOW, they soon discovered how sustainable and affordable tiny houses could be as well as all the red tape holding them back.

The two consultants helped create an information pack in June 2017.

"It was targeting councils and state planning departments to really look at tiny houses as a valid form of housing that should be included in planning schemes as a legal form of housing," Ms Bares said.

The guide demonstrated how tiny houses could work, how much land they need and how a "tiny village" could operate.

"It was the first time that that those sorts of issues had really been dealt with," Ms Bares said.

Draft planning policies put out for the consultation by the South Australian Government this month encourage "healthy neighbourhoods that include diverse housing options" and "the provision of small lot housing".

The Local Government Association of South Australia has not developed a policy on tiny houses.

Robert Bria, the Mayor of the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters in Adelaide's inner east, said building a tiny house on a property that already contained another house created issues for providing services such as rubbish pick-up, access through driveways and meeting minimum allotment sizes.

He expected more interest in the idea as land prices continued to increase.

"Clearly if someone's building a new structure on an existing property, that will increase the value of that property," Mr Bria said.

"The difference is if it's a structure going to be used as a dwelling which the owner could get rent for.

"Obviously, Council is going to have a look at that new property as a rateable property."

Valerie Bares and Rikki Pieters with their tiny house information pack. ( Supplied )

Are any councils supportive?

Ms Bares said a lot of councils were really interested but sitting back, waiting to see another council to pull it off first.

"That's what we're really pushing for … to get some demonstration projects up and going so that councils and planning departments can really come and see how well they could be done which could then form the benchmarks or the code for how to do a tiny house development," she said.

For the time being, it is very much a council-by-council decision as to whether a tiny house can stay.

Ms Leong said it could be a matter of just asking.

"You can actually write to your council and ask for an exemption, but it does require a little bit more work than actually building a house," Ms Leong said.

So how is it done, from someone who has done it?

Adelaide man Peter Willems with his tiny house under construction. ( Supplied )

Adelaide man Peter Willems, knowing all the red tape, decided to build his own tiny home on wheels, despite the jokes from his workmates.

"Did I get it from Toys R Us, does it come in a flatpack, how many Lego pieces does it take," Mr Willems recalled.

For just $50,000, the 49-year-old has built a double bed, a walk-in wardrobe and a balcony into 30 square metres.

While it was an easy decision for Mr Willems, he recognised that many others weren't as certain.

"I recognised very early on that in the tiny house community there's a lot of people who want to live in a tiny home but they're just afraid," he said.

Inside Peter Willems' tiny house. ( ABC News: Bec Whetham )

"They don't understand the building process … I bring people out to working bees to teach them how to use tools safely and try and make sure that as a community we move forward building strong and really well-designed homes."

Mr Willems said that, like him, most tiny home owners lived under the radar.

But if you had a safe, well-designed home, councils should not have an issue.

Ms Bares agreed that homes on wheels should be built to some kind of standard.

"We would certainly encourage builders of tiny houses to stick to the tiny house industry code," she said.

"For councils, it's certainly a safety issue … safety is the big one."

So where do THOW enthusiasts park their homes?

Mr Willems asked the same question.

"I did as much research as possible, I did call up different government departments … to try and understand what my options are," he said.

"Unfortunately there's no real clear answers."

He has arranged to live his "tiny life out in the countryside" on a friend's property, giving him more time for his nine grandchildren and a veggie patch.

Peter Willems is building his house on an Adelaide industrial site. ( ABC News: Bec Whetham )

Unlocking the 'Australian tiny house industry'

Ms Bares said the awareness around tiny houses only continues to grow.

"There's still a long way to go but there's pressure from many sides to really look at tiny houses and I think over the next 12 months we'll see some real progress be made," she said.

Ms Leong said by choice or by circumstance, Australia would have to start seriously considering unconventional housing methods such as tiny homes on wheels.

"The quarter-acre lot with the big backyard and the large house with the growing family doesn't seem to be as accessible to people as it once was," she said.

"Financing … I think that's another change that needs to happen is to understand what tiny houses are and how they should be valued so that insurers and banks can actually lend money to people who want to build or actually buy tiny houses."

But she agreed it was only a matter of time.

"I think with the passion that exists around tiny houses, I find it very hard to believe that we wouldn't see more tiny houses," she said.