The Queensland Government’s announcement to make granny flats available for rent to non-family members has made big headlines and has been applauded by many. Yes, it’s a great step, but only a first step. It’s not going to be the silver bullet to the housing affordability crisis; many other solutions are required and no doubt the government is working on them.
Unfortunately renting out granny flats has its share of downsides and this article is a cautionary tale like a few that are starting to come out.
Many Granny Flats were already being rented out to non-family members before these amendments came into effect. Either people were not aware of the regulation that restricted the use of granny flats to ‘household’ members or they ignored it. The changes now mean more people can feel comfortable doing it too.
Hopefully our State government took a look at our neighbours in NSW to gain some insights into the possible fall outs of this initiative. Yes, Queensland is not the first State to bring about this kind of change. Granny flats were allowed to be rented out in NSW under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) which came into effect in 2009 [1]. Whilst researching for our Tiny House Planning Resource paper [2], we became aware that this policy created a surge in the construction of granny flats but many became short-term accommodation advertised on AirBnb. And why wouldn’t you if you can earn in 2 days the equivalent of a week’s rent and not have to put up with possibly difficult tenants locked in for 6 or 12 months. There are other rubbing points with this type of initiative still being commented on today: construction of granny flats on property already being rented out, unclear apportionment of utility bills and unlawful construction [3].
From this announcement, there is now likely to be a surge of households wanting to build a granny flat. But isn’t there a skills shortage at the moment? Tradespeople are booked out months in advance and/or charging huge fees. Besides the delays in sourcing materials, it will be a while before any new granny flats come online to increase the rental stock.
Part of the amendments to the Planning Regulation 2017 that have been introduced include an amendment to the household definition and the removal of the reference to household in the dwelling house, dual occupancy and multiple dwelling uses. Whilst it makes sense for the dwelling house (which includes secondary dwelling), I can only assume the changes to the other two uses were a tidy up exercise. As Catherine Andrews pointed out in her article [4], why would you pay infrastructure charges on a dual occupancy development for family members?
I wonder also how many mum & dad landlords would bother with a formal lease agreement. The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act is in place to give tenants and landlords protection by putting in place clear agreements of rent amounts, space being rented, term of the lease, etc. But unless a granny flat is leased through an agency, then it is between landlord and tenant to negotiate.
Which brings me to my favourite topic – tiny houses on wheels. It should be highlighted that the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act includes vehicles such as caravans and campervans as accommodation that can be rented out short-term or long-term. And yet our planning legislation cannot accommodate them (how about a new definition for ‘moveable dwelling’?) and it is left to local councils to regulate their use through local laws with the majority of councils in SEQ prohibiting the siting of a caravan on private property for long-term accommodation.
There are many reasons to make tiny houses a legitimate form of housing – we’ve documented them in the Tiny House Planning Resource [2]. We have re-enforced these ideas in latest publication, ‘Re-imagining the Backyard – a Tiny House on Wheels in the Suburbs’ [2] which also suggests a regulatory framework that would provide land owners, tiny house occupants, the community and regulatory bodies peace of mind. And we are urging State and Local governments to make use of temporary policies or laws to at least test this type of housing.
[2] https://escconsulting.com.au/tiny-house-stuff/
[4] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/granny-you-ok-catherine-andrews/
escconsulting.com.au 