Moratorium may give chance to make illegal homes legal

LISMORE council will consider a moratorium on illegal dwellings to give homeowners the opportunity to bring dwellings into line with compliance standards.

LISMORE City Council will canvass the possibility of creating a moratorium on illegal dwellings to give homeowners the opportunity to bring dwellings into line with compliance standards.

The motion introduced by councillor Neil Marks was carried 9-3 at last night's meeting.

Cr Marks said Council was turning a "blind eye" to the preponderance of illegal dwellings in the Lismore LGA when it should be taking responsibility for the issue.

"We are told there is a lot out there, that there are people living in situations which are not safe for them or the community around them," Cr Marks said.

"What happens if somebody's house does not come under any guidelines and is totally uninhabitable? Well that's a question we would have to ask ourselves at a workshop," Cr Marks said.

"We are told there a lot of farmers who would like to have second dwellings on their farms. We would like to be able to say to them 'yes you can do that'."

"This is not about picking on people who can't afford to have houses."