Tiny homes: Couple turn to ‘tiny home’ after losing everything
Bushfire-impacted residents are joining the ‘tiny home’ boom as they avoid long wait times for building approvals and seek comfort after heartache. Find out where they are.
The South Coast News
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Residents who lost everything in the summer bushfires are turning to “tiny homes” to avoid red tape and delays as they attempt to rebuild their lives.
Tinpot residents Nicki Ballard and Isa White are moving into their custom-designed house on wheels this week after their home of 14 years was destroyed in January.
Luckily, the married couple were both at work when the blaze tore through their 120 hectare dream property, burning at almost 900 degrees, they said they “would’ve been dead” if they were home that day.
Home to about 37,500 people, 80 per cent of the Eurobodalla was burnt with almost 500 homes destroyed, 280 damaged and more than 1230 additional facilities and outbuildings lost or damaged.
The bushfires also claimed three lives in the region.
“We knew it was bad, and we knew we had lost everything. We just had our work clothes and our cats and luckily our passports,” Ms Ballard said.
The pair said their little “hamlet” has been all but forgotten in media coverage of the bushfires.
“A lot of people just don’t get how much trauma is still being felt because of the fires,” Ms White said.
Like many south coast residents they have been calling a caravan home for 10 months, and move into their new, smaller home on wheels this week.
“It’s a lot quicker than waiting on the development application process, and allows us to get back on with life and get back to work,” Ms Ballard said. “It’s a functional space to live in.
“This is us into the future.”
Ms Ballard said her Instagram account has been bombarded with requests from people from across the world curious to see her new home as interest in tiny homes grows.
The couple said they “did a lot of research” into tiny homes along the south coast, before having one delivered by Ulladulla family-owned business Designer Eco Tiny Homes.
Ms White said it was the most economical way for the pair to feel anything near the comforts of their destroyed home, and one entire wall consists of a sliding-glass door, enhancing the property’s bush views.
Charities, including the Red Cross, have also turned to tiny homes to help uninsured residents affected by bushfire.
According to the Australian Tiny Homes Association (ATHA), tiny homes are movable dwellings up to 50 sqm in size.
ATHA member Fabio Paulucci said the popularity of tiny homes had “gone through the roof”, especially in a year experiencing the effects of bushfire devastation and COVID-19 lockdowns.
The association has released a guide to support approvals of tiny homes in local government areas.
Eurobodalla Shire Council said in the nine months to September they received 282 development applications, up 32 per cent on the same period last year, and up 24 per cent on the five-year average of 22.
There was $16.6 million dollars worth approved in September alone.
For Ms Ballard and Ms White, the option of a tiny home will allow them to be comfortable on their property as they plan to rebuild their lost home.
“We moved here because we were sick of the city,” Ms Ballard said.
“We were over the violence and having to watch your back even when going to buy milk.
“Here is our spiritual home. It’s not just the pretty view, there’s something indescribable about it. It just feels so calm here.”
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