Owning a home has always been a dream for Tabatha Wiezczorek, but with the price of housing across much of the country through the roof she's now looking at something smaller — a tiny home.
Ms Wiezczorek grew up in Newcastle and for a few years she was sleeping rough, unable to afford rent.
"I was homeless, I'd been homeless for about two years," she said.
"I thought Cessnock was pretty cheap and it wasn't too far away from Newcastle."
Ms Wiezczorek decided to relocate to Cessnock, about 50 kilometres west of Newcastle, about 10 years ago.
"When I came out here it was a lot cheaper. It was under $300 a week to rent a three-bedroom house, she said.
"There's nothing decent here now under $400 a week."
Ms Wiezczorek works at a hotel but struggles to afford her rent on top of other living expenses, including supporting her daughters.
She pays $510 rent a week and fears that will be increased soon.
"All those worries I've had in the past about trying to keep a roof over my head, they've all come back," she said.
"I'm nearly 50 years old. There's no way [i can afford] a $400,000 house.
"But I'm going to try and find a way of getting my own home, even if it is a little box."
Looking 'tiny'
Ms Wiezczorek has been looking into tiny homes as a more affordable housing option.
"I've seen these little shipping containers that fold out on the side to make a two bedroom or three bedroom little house," she said.
"Something like that would probably cost me around $50,000."
Ms Wiezczorek said she would much rather be paying off a home loan on a tiny home then paying rent.
"I reckon most people would have a roof over their head if they'd be able to pay [a tiny home] off," she said.
"Instead of paying $400, $500, $600 rent, if we can pay that we can pay off a loan.
"I think the banks and the government have to see that too."
Australian Tiny Home Association (ATHA) NSW representative Peter Wigley lives in a tiny home with his family in Lismore on the New South Wales north coast.
He believes tiny homes could help solve the country's affordable housing crisis.
"In New South Wales we've got over 50,000 people on the housing waiting list with little to no available rental properties in regional towns or cities," he said.
"I think [tiny homes] are a really viable solution and one which is affordable for not only essential workers but young people trying to make their way in life."
A 'real' option
Mr Wigley said rules around owning and living in a tiny house differ by Local Government Area.
In New South Wales most tiny homes come under the movable dwelling act and are considered like a caravan.
He would like to see laws eased to allow for multiple tiny homes on properties.
"I think we need to look at some key areas so that councils are given some flexibility in terms of how they can locate tiny homes onto both residential lots, rural lots, and increase some of the housing supply," he said.
Mr Wigley said the government should seriously consider tiny homes as an option for Australians struggling to afford rent or afford their own home.
"We could look into intentional tiny home communities," he said.
"It could be a pilot program where we do this and wrap in mental health services that actually inject into that community, to support members who were living there.
"It's at least a start."
Not for everyone
Steve Denshire is a local builder in Newcastle, built his own tiny house for $60,000, and lived in it for six months.
"I guess I built one to experiment, especially if it was something that I'm going to promote in our community," he said.
"To be honest my findings are that it's not particularly something I promote in the community to people unless they've got a specific requirement they're trying to fill."
While Mr Denshire does acknowledge tiny homes provide a more affordable housing option, he believed more should be done to help address the housing crisis in Australia.
"I think the government and us as a community could do better things than just tiny houses," Mr Denshire said.
"As a professional I earn a good wage, but I've recognised I don't want to work 60-hour weeks just to buy a house.
"But unfortunately that hasn't been done, so yes, it is a solution."
