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With Tasmania facing an acute shortage of affordable housing, Launceston architect Jiri Lev believes it is crucial to rethink the current approach to social housing.
Mr Lev, known for his renewable and cost-effective designs, has proposed innovative plans for social housing that could revolutionise the building process.
"The main issue with the current social and affordable housing, and housing in general, is that the government seems to be doing the same old thing and expecting different results," Mr Lev said.
"More suburbia, more mediocre, cookie-cutter bungalow style houses and units, filled with plastic, volatile chemicals, and materials that depend on overseas or interstate supply chains
"Of course, there are notable exceptions, but these are few and far apart. Overall, we're still ruining our landscapes and setting up future generations for more microplastics and toxic waste."
Mr Lev said the renter should be considered in the building process.
"Self-built home schemes should become one of the key pathways to affordable and social housing. Not everyone has the physical strength to build a house, but many do," he said.
"It is possible to design a house in such a way that self-building, even by a single person without prior experience, is a viable and economical option.
"Those in need of housing should be given the opportunity to participate in the construction of their rental homes, with their labour counted towards later ownership transfer, while simultaneously building their skill set and employability."
A prototype home in Tasmania's North has wrapped construction after six months on a budget of $150,000. What's more, it was built by just one person.
Designed by Launceston architect Jiri Lev, the proof of concept was created to be as affordable as possible to incentivise residents to become owner-builders.
With a focus on minimalism, the 120 sqaure metre house uses locally sourced and natural materials wherever possible.
A time-lapse of the construction of 'The Tasmanian Homestead' - a prototype modern home. Supplied video (18/4/24)
In the face of mounting cost of living pressures, Mr Lev said a roof could be put over a family's head "for as little as $50,000" using this design.
"If you're getting a builder to construct your home, it's $400,000 plus these days in Tassie," he said.
"I think it's entirely unnecessary. Anyone can do it, that's the point I'm trying to prove."
The architect is so confident in the design that he's made the plans open source, allowing anyone to access them for free on request.B
Small-home dream can become a nightmare of red tape due to building codes and laws
Jiri, Sasha and Frankie Lev and their new small home in Tasmania's north. (ABC News: Sean Wales)
Jiri Lev and his family are preparing to move into their new home.
Key points:
- The Lev family have built a small home but were surprised by the number of laws and regulations governing what they can build
- One rule states that their small home must have three sinks — one for the bathroom, kitchen and laundry
- Others are finding they are spending between $10,000-$20,000 on paperwork before any building starts
But they haven't gone down the mainstream path.
"We built a small house to try and remain debt free — it's extremely small," Mr Lev, who designed the new home, said.
To be exact, it's 7.2 by 3.6 metres.
"It's basically a large living space with a little loft and a rather oversized bathroom for a house of this footprint."
Sasha Lev said they wanted to build out of the bigger cities.
They ended up settling on a block of land in Tasmania's Meander Valley, near Launceston, in the state's north.
"Everyone knows each other, and we just take care of each other," she said.
But they've been surprised by the amount of red tape and regulation that comes with building a small home.
Small homes are becoming more popular as an affordable option for people to buy and build their own home. (ABC News: Sean Wales)
Red tape makes small homes a big project
Small homes are becoming increasingly popular as house prices soar.
Bronte Booth manages Timber World and said people were looking at various ways to get into the market.
"We've been inundated with inquiries for building activity — it's just become really unaffordable to build at all so people are looking at small options for houses," he said.
A small home can cost under $100,000 to build. (ABC News: Sean Wales)
But Mr Lev said it had been unnecessarily difficult to get the project off the ground.
"There's a number of inherent problems in the approval of a small house," he said.
"I would say the building code and legislation are tailored to the typical, two to three-bedroom home and there isn't enough provision for small-scale living."
Building codes dictate houses need to have three sinks – one for the bathroom, kitchen and laundry.
"Even in a house that is this small, you are required to have three sinks, otherwise you can't get your occupancy,"Mr Lev said.
"It's not very easy to fit all of that into a small footprint like this."
The Lev family will soon be a family of four, and will have foldable beds and a loft in their small home. (ABC News: Sean Wales)
Mr Booth said people were often spending thousands of dollars before the build even started.
"It's really prohibitive for young people, and people without a lot of money," he said.
"It just seems completely unnecessary and before you even start work, it costs $10,000-$20,000 in paperwork."
Thousands of dollars on plans
Rod Baker has spent more than $10,000 on plans and permits to build his small home in Meander. (ABC News: Sean Wales)
Rod Baker is about to turn 70 and was not planning on building a home at this point in his life.
But he is now looking at building a small home in Meander.
"I have no reason to have a big house. It made sense to build a smaller house, to keep it warmer and keep it cleaner," he said.
But he was dismayed at the amount of red tape he had to deal with.
"I've spent $10,000 on surveys, soil testing, bushfire alert levels, approvals, a building surveyor — that was a bit of a shock because I thought with such a small house it wouldn't be that excessive," Mr Baker said.
"I have had to put a passing bay at the driveway entrance too for a fire engine to come in if I'm leaving when a fire engine is coming in."
Mr Baker said the building process should be streamlined.
"I think there's a lot of double handling of things, of issues and of finances."
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