News
25 September, 2026
Tiny homes could help address homelessness
A local charity is hoping tiny homes will help provide a solution to the region’s homelessness problem. Video below
A local charity is hoping tiny homes will help provide a solution to the region’s homelessness problem.
Paul Riley from Lydia’s Legacy Southern Highlands Homelessness Inc. estimates that at least 80 people are ‘sleeping rough’ in the Southern Highlands every night.
Those people are not necessarily sleeping outdoors or in their cars but maybe ‘couch surfing’ at the homes of family or friends.
Mr Riley – one of the guest speakers at the September meeting of the Southern Highlands Community Forum – said a major problem locally was the availability of rental accommodation.
“There are just no homes.”
The other problem is affordability.
Even when rental accommodation is available, many people experiencing homelessness simply can’t afford it – even if they are employed.
Those people include older women and victims of domestic violence.
Mr Riley said building tidy homes and locating them on decent-sized blocks close to ‘wrap-around’ services would be a practical and cost-effective way of dealing with the problem.
He said tiny homes were “pretty comfortable” and would offer someone in need a “quality” roof over their heads.
Lydia’s Legacy will pay for the tidy homes to be built via monies raised through grants and donations, while the property owner will pay for transportation and installation costs.
Local community housing provider Argle Housing will be responsible for the tenancy arrangements.
Mr Riley said that while the property owner wouldn’t get much out of the arrangement to start off with, they would be given the option of purchasing the tiny home at a much reduced price after five years.
They would be gifted the tiny home outright after 10 years.
Mr Riley said there were probably many other solutions available to address the region’s homelessness problem, but the tiny homes option represented one that was “cost effective, quick and quality”.
He said the idea had already attracted interest from other areas and ideally Lydia’s Legacy would like to see it rolled out across regional NSW.
· Lydia’s Legacy has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status meaning it can receive tax deductible donations. For more information visit www.lydiaslegacy.com.au
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