Airbnb treehouse built on Crown land given the chop by court

It’s one of the most-popular tree-stay destinations in Northern NSW having already netted its owner Murray Arthur Taylor $40,000 through Airbnb stays. Only problem is the treehouse was built without council approval and on crown land. TOUR THE TREEHOUSE

• 110 ‘greedy’ councils refusing to cut parking fines
• How you can get a bigger backyard

A designer treehouse in Northern NSW that earned its “revolutionary” builder $40,000 on Airbnb has landed him in legal strife because he built and operated it without council approval on public land.

Now Murray Arthur Taylor must rip down his forest getaway overlooking picturesque Upper Crystal Creek, 68km north of Byron Bay.

By the time Tweed Council found out about the hideaway, which Mr Taylor marketed on Airbnb as “Woodstock”, “Cougal Cabin” or “Crystal Creek Tree house”, it had become one of the most popular tree-stay destinations in the area.

That all changed on April 5 when the council won an order in the NSW Land and Environment Court to have the retired builder rip down the treehouse that cost him $70,000 to build.

The treehouse built on government-owned near Murray Arthur Taylor’s Upper Crystal Creek property in Northern NSW.

MORE FROM BRENDEN HILLS

NASTY SHOCK FOR COPS ON BEACHSIDE JOG

B4L GANG LEADER QAUMI GOES OFF-SCRIPT

Mr Taylor said he took the anti-Establishment route because council red tape and regulations would have required clearing of trees — which he would remove the very appeal of the building.

“I consider myself a bit of a revolutionary and when authority tells you to do something, whether it’s right or wrong I believe in standing up and fighting for what you believe in and not just rolling over,” Mr ­Taylor said.

He bought a property on Upper Crystal Creek Rd in 2015 and in September 2016 built the luxury treehouse, partly on his property but also on Crown land.

It was just 10m from Upper Crystal Creek and featured a furnished open plan living area and deck.

In 2018, the council served him with a development control order, demanding he stop using it as a rental.

Mr Taylor represented himself in the case and argued the council’s move had “caused considerable loss to myself and my family”.

The bedroom inside the treehouse.

The treehouse’s bathroom, complete with tub and flushing toilet.

He disputed the council’s claims of a safety risk, telling the court that in his career as a builder who renovated old Queenslander houses he tended to “over-engineer it well within the Building Code of Australia.”

Mr Taylor told the court the treehouse was attached in three places by “breaking strain log clamps” that could hold nine tonnes and were attached to a eucalypt, a quandong fig and a box gum tree.

“The chains allow the tree to move in the wind while the building remains perfectly stable,” Mr Taylor told the court.

Mr Taylor told the court being next to “a perfectly flowing creek … in a rainforest type environment” protected it from bushfires and added: “I still have a high pressure hose attached to the building.”

The treehouse was listed on AirBnB until the local council found out about it.

Murray Arthur Taylor.

But Justice Brian Preston ruled the treehouse was in breach of laws and safety regulations and ordered Mr Taylor to demolish it. He now has three months to carry out the task.

Justice Preston also ordered Mr Taylor to pick up the $25,000 bill for the council’s barrister.

“I don’t want to do it but what options do I have? I can’t violate court order,” he said. “So I just have to comply which is a shame because I spent eight months building that treehouse from scratch. At a cost of $70,000.”

Taylor said his legal loss followed what was an encouraging start to his case, when he invited Tweed councillors for morning tea.

“They all came and we put on a lovely spread,” he said. “Everyone seemed quite happy with the treehouse and had a good look around. One of the council workers even said to me: ‘This is nice of you. Usually residents put the dogs on to us’.

“I remember thinking that was a strange thing to say at the time … but having gone through what I just have … I can understand what he was talking about.”

Originally published as Airbnb treehouse built on Crown land given the chop by court