Council ‘mucked up’ in fight over tiny house
No one has come out on top in a dispute between Hutt City Council and a man who argued his tiny house should not require a building permit because it is a vehicle.
Jono Voss took Hutt City Council to the Environment Court after it issued an abatement notice, telling him he had to remove a tiny house he was ‘‘fabricating’’ on the back of his friend Fadi Antoun’s property.
In a ruling dated January 31, Environment Court Judge Brian Dwyer said Jono Voss’s tiny house required a building consent, as it could not be easily moved and therefore could not be considered a vehicle.
However, he said the council also ‘‘mucked up’’ by not giving Voss enough time to remove the tiny house, and mis-stating the statutory basis for the issue.
‘‘I find the contention that the tiny house is a vehicle to be a flight of imagination advanced to justify the failure to apply for any necessary consents to construct it,’’ the judge’s ruling read.
However, he has not ordered Voss and Antoun to pay costs, as he said council had not given Voss enough time to remove the structure when it issued the abatement notice.
‘‘The other side of the coin is that the council ‘mucked up’ the issue of the abatement notice and should bear its own costs accordingly.’’
Voss told Stuff he is disappointed in the judge’s decision.
He said he was currently forced to live in emergency housing, a situation that he did not want to end up in.
‘‘That’s what has been forced on me.’’
His next step was to put the axle and wheels on the tiny house, which is already on its chassis, to make it easy to move.
Council’s acting general manager of city transformation, Helen Oram said she welcomed the judge’s ruling.
‘‘We were confident the judge would uphold Council’s position that the building is subject to rules of the district plan.
‘‘Council takes on board the judge’s comments that it would take more time to remove the building, and we’ll be working with the owner to agree to a timeframe for its removal.’’
She said the council is aware there is housing stress in Lower Hutt, and has been working to address housing affordability and homelessness.
‘‘We’d strongly recommend people looking to build a tiny house in Lower Hutt to talk to us first.’’
Eco Cottages owner Colin Wightman, who supported Voss through the proceedings, said there is too much red tape when it comes to building tiny houses.
He said they are a ‘‘no brainer’’ when it comes to solving New Zealand’s housing crisis.
He is planning to stage a hikoi to parliament in March, calling for government legislation for tiny homes.
‘‘I find the contention that the tiny house is a vehicle to be a flight of imagination advanced to justify the failure to apply for any necessary consents to construct it.’’ Environment Court Judge Brian Dwyer