Alternative Housing Australia

Tiny House Rules and Regulations in Western Australia

Updated October 2026 | AHA Research Team

In Western Australia, a tiny home on wheels that’s a genuine vehicle is treated as a caravan under the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Regulations 1997. You can stay in one on private land for up to 5 nights in any 28 days without council approval. Longer stays need written approval from your local government, which can be given for up to 24 months at a time.

A fixed backyard tiny home is an ancillary dwelling (what most people call a granny flat) under the R-Codes. Since April 2024, there’s no minimum lot size. If it meets the R-Codes’ deemed-to-comply standards, including a 70 m² internal floor area limit, and the property isn’t heritage-protected, you won’t need development approval. You’ll still need a building permit.

Councils can add their own policies and conditions, so check with your local government before you buy or build.

Quick Answers

Only with council approval. Beyond short stays of up to 5 nights in any 28 days, you need written approval from your local government, which can be given for up to 24 months at a time. Some councils only approve this while a house is being built, so check your council’s policy.

Only with council approval, apart from short stays. Your local government can approve someone living in it for up to 24 months at a time, and may require the site to have access to services such as water, power and sewage. Only one caravan can be lived in on a lot unless more are approved.

Up to 5 nights in any 28 consecutive days, with the landowner’s permission. For anything longer, you need written approval from your local government.

Only if your council allows. If your local government approves a stay longer than 5 nights, it can require the site to have services such as power, water and sewage. The tiny home must still be able to be moved within 24 hours of its services being disconnected. Ask your water provider about connecting to its network before you set up.

Yes, if it meets the R-Codes’ deemed-to-comply standards, goes with a single house or grouped dwelling, and the property isn’t heritage-protected. You won’t need development approval, but you’ll still need a building permit. Some bushfire prone areas and special control areas still require approval.

Yes for a fixed tiny home, unless the work is exempt. You apply to the permit authority, which is usually your local government. No for a tiny home on wheels that counts as a caravan, as long as it stays a vehicle with its wheels on.

Tiny house on wheels (THOW)

Quick answer: In WA, a tiny home on wheels that is a genuine vehicle is treated as a caravan. You can stay in one for up to 5 nights in any 28-day period on land you own or have a legal right to occupy. For anything longer, you need written approval from your council (local government), which can be given for up to 24 months at a time. You can reapply when it ends, but on private land there’s no approval with no end date.

Is it a caravan or a building?

The WA Planning Commission says a tiny home in WA can’t be both a caravan and a building. This comes from a 2018 State Administrative Tribunal decision, Henville and City of Armadale. The Tribunal found that under WA’s planning rules, a park home (a type of caravan) is a vehicle, not a building, and rejected the argument that a home could be both. In the same case, it found that homes fitted with small rollers were buildings, not vehicles, because they weren’t a means of transport.

  • A caravan is a vehicle that’s fitted or designed for people to live in. Under the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act 1995, a vehicle is a conveyance (a means of transport), other than a train, boat or aircraft, that can be driven or towed on wheels. The Tribunal said it must be a means of transport, not just something that can be moved, and its wheels must be what make it one. Adding rollers or calling the frame a “chassis” doesn’t turn a building into a vehicle.
  • It must stay mobile. Under regulation 15 of the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Regulations 1997, the owner must keep its wheels on and keep it able to be moved within 24 hours of its services being disconnected. It’s also an offence to interfere with a caravan so that it can’t be moved. The regulations set a fine of $5,000 for each of these offences.
  • Too big to tow? If it couldn’t be towed on a road because of its size, and so doesn’t need a vehicle licence, the law treats it as a park home. A park home can only be lived in inside a licensed caravan park.
  • If the wheels are removed and it’s no longer a vehicle, it stops being a caravan. It then needs to meet the requirements for a building, which generally includes a building permit under the Building Act 2011 and meeting the National Construction Code. Decks, patios and other structures built next to a tiny home on wheels may also need planning approval and a building permit.

When you don’t need council approval

Short stays. You can stay in a tiny home on wheels for up to 5 nights in any 28-day period on land you own or have a legal right to occupy, without approval from council. State guidance says this needs the landowner’s consent.

Told you don’t need approval? Check with your council first.

If a seller or builder tells you a tiny home doesn’t need council approval, check before you buy. Whether yours needs approval depends on your state’s laws, your council’s rules, your property and how you plan to use the home. Get written confirmation from your council, or advice from a town planner, before you sign a contract.

When you need council approval

Staying longer than 5 nights. Any stay longer than 5 nights in any 28 consecutive days needs written approval from your council. If council refuses, limits or cancels it, you can apply to the Minister for Local Government.

Living on vacant land. We found no state rule that requires a house on the land first. Council can approve you living on land you own or have a legal right to occupy for up to 24 months. But some councils only approve this while a house is being built, or where a house already exists, so check your council’s policy.

Living in it long term. On private land, there’s no approval with no end date. Each approval lasts up to 24 months, and you need to reapply when it ends. Council doesn’t have to approve it again.

More than one tiny home on wheels. Only one caravan can be lived in on a lot at a time unless you have written approval. Your council can approve more than one for up to 3 months. For longer than that, you need approval from the Minister for Local Government.

After a natural disaster. We found no special exemption for living in a tiny home on wheels after a natural disaster. The standard rules apply, so a stay longer than 5 nights needs approval.

How approval to live in it works

Since 1 September 2024, councils can approve someone living in a caravan or tiny home on wheels on private land for up to 24 months at a time. Before that, councils could only approve up to 3 months, or up to 12 months if the person had a building or demolition permit. State guidance says you can reapply when an approval ends.

Who applies. You apply in writing to the council where the land is. You must own the land or have a legal right to occupy it. State guidance says you also need the property owner’s approval.

What council checks. Before approving, council must be satisfied that the land is suitable for camping, especially for safety, health and access to services. It can add its own conditions. For example, state guidance says council may require enough power, water, sewage and cooking facilities.

Timeframes. If council hasn’t approved your application within 63 days, it’s taken to be refused. Council can cancel an approval if it’s satisfied a condition has been broken, but it must first give you written notice and 35 days to respond.

If council says no. If council refuses your application, cancels your approval, or approves it with a time limit or conditions, you have 35 days to apply to the Minister for Local Government. The Minister can approve up to 24 months. State guidance says council can’t cancel an approval the Minister gives.

Local rules can add limits. Some councils have local laws or policies with extra requirements. For example, some only approve a tiny home on wheels on a lot that already has a house, or only while you’re building one. Check your council’s policy before you buy.

When you need planning approval or a building permit

The tiny home itself. The WA Planning Commission says a tiny home that counts as a caravan doesn’t need a building permit, and generally doesn’t need development approval (planning approval). Some councils’ planning policies do require planning approval for living in a caravan, so check yours.

Removing the wheels or fixing it in place. If it’s no longer a vehicle, it’s treated as a building. It then generally needs a building permit, and may need planning approval.

Towing and registration

In WA, registration is called a vehicle licence. A tiny home on wheels must be licensed before it can be towed on a public road. You apply in person to the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure, after it passes a roadworthiness inspection at an Authorised Inspection Station. WA’s light vehicle licence fees apply to vehicles with a gross vehicle mass (GVM, the most it can weigh fully loaded) of up to 4,500 kg. Our buying guide covers size limits, brakes, driver licences and registration in detail.

Wider than 2.5 metres? Main Roads WA says a vehicle wider than 2.5 metres is generally a Restricted Access Vehicle (RAV). It can only be used on a public road under a permit or order from Main Roads. We found no permit or exemption made specifically for tiny homes on wheels.

If you’re planning a home wider than 2.5 metres, talk to Main Roads WA and your builder about how it will be moved before you commit.

Tiny house on foundations

A fixed tiny home is one that isn’t a vehicle. It might be built on footings, or have had its wheels removed so it no longer works as a vehicle. In WA, it’s treated as a building. Under the Building Act 2011, you need a building permit before you start building, unless the work is exempt. For most homes, the permit is issued by your local government (the permit authority).

Backyard tiny homes (ancillary dwellings)

In WA, a self-contained tiny home on the same site as another home is called an ancillary dwelling (what most people call a granny flat). It can be attached to the main home, built into it, or stand on its own. The rules are in the Residential Design Codes Volume 1 (the R-Codes).

Since April 2024, there’s no minimum lot size. You can add an ancillary dwelling to a single house or a grouped dwelling (one of two or more homes on the same lot, with none built above another, including strata homes with common property). The R-Codes don’t limit who can live in it. The state’s granny flat info sheet says anyone can, including a relative, a friend or a tenant.

The R-Codes include a checklist called the deemed-to-comply standards. If your design meets the checklist, it complies. Which checklist applies depends on your lot’s density code (a rating like R20 or R40 that your council can tell you). For single houses coded R40 or lower, and grouped dwellings coded R25 or lower, the checklist for an ancillary dwelling is:

  • Size: no more than 70 m² of internal floor area.
  • Position: behind the street setback line (the minimum distance buildings must sit back from the street).
  • Parking: none needed if you’re within walking distance of a high-frequency train or bus service, as the R-Codes define it. Otherwise, you need one bay.
  • The main home’s space: it can’t stop the main home from having the open space and outdoor living area it needs.
  • Everything else: it must meet the other R-Codes rules for houses, such as boundary setbacks and building height, with a few exceptions.

Higher-density areas (single houses coded R50 and above, and grouped dwellings coded R30 and above) use a different part of the R-Codes. It also allows one ancillary dwelling per site, up to 70 m² of internal floor area, and a limited number in some apartment developments.

If your design doesn’t meet the checklist, it can still be approved, but you’ll need development approval. The decision-maker will judge it against the R-Codes’ design principles. If your application meets the checklist and the relevant rules in your council’s local planning scheme and other local planning documents, the decision-maker must not refuse it.

Councils can change some checklist standards, such as street setbacks and building height, through their local planning policies. Changing others needs approval from the Western Australian Planning Commission. If your land isn’t zoned residential, ask your council which rules apply.

Skipping the planning application

Under the state’s planning regulations, you don’t need development approval (planning approval) to build an ancillary dwelling on the same lot as a single house or grouped dwelling if all three of these are true: the R-Codes apply, your design meets the checklist, and the property isn’t heritage-protected. You still need a building permit.

Heritage-protected means the place is on the State Register of Heritage Places (or being considered for it), covered by a heritage order or a certified heritage agreement, on your council’s heritage list, or in a heritage area.

Council policies: a council’s local planning policy can’t switch this exemption off. If a policy changes a checklist standard (where the council is allowed to), meeting the council’s version counts as meeting the checklist.

Special control areas: the exemption doesn’t apply if your land is in a special control area (an area in your council’s planning scheme with its own extra rules) and those rules require development approval.

Bushfire prone areas: if your land has been in a designated bushfire prone area for at least 4 months, you need a bushfire attack level (BAL) assessment before you start. A BAL rates how exposed a site is to bushfire. You don’t need the assessment if a BAL contour map already covers the site, or if the terrain makes the BAL impossible to calculate. You do need development approval, even if you’d otherwise be exempt, if the site is rated BAL-40 or BAL-Flame Zone, or if the terrain means the BAL can’t be calculated.

Setbacks (how far buildings must sit from boundaries) are part of the checklist. For single houses coded R40 or lower, and grouped dwellings coded R25 or lower, the main ones are:

From the street: 6 m from the primary street in R20 areas, and 4 m in R40 areas. This can be averaged or reduced in some cases.

From side and rear boundaries: to meet the R-Codes checklist, a wall up to 3.5 m high must sit at least 1 m from the side and rear boundaries. If that wall is 15 m or longer, or has a major opening (certain windows and doors, as the R-Codes define them), it must sit at least 1.5 m away. Taller walls must sit further back, and some lower density codes can require more. Some walls can be built right on the boundary. These setbacks apply to single houses on lots coded R40 or lower, and grouped dwellings on lots coded R25 or lower.

Building permit pathways

Under the Building Act 2011, there are two ways to apply for a building permit.

Certified application: you pay an independent building surveyor (someone who isn’t you, your builder, or employed by either of you) to check your plans first. They sign a certificate confirming the home will meet WA’s building standards if it’s built to those plans. You send this certificate with your application, and the permit authority has 10 business days to decide.

Uncertified application: you send your plans straight to the permit authority, which has a building surveyor check them. The permit authority has 25 business days to decide. This option is only available for Class 1a buildings (single houses) and Class 10 buildings.

Under the Building Regulations 2012, the clock can pause, for example while you answer the permit authority’s questions. It can also run longer if you agree in writing.

If you need development approval, you must get it before the building permit can be granted. The same applies to any health approval you need for an on-site sewage system, such as a septic tank.

Building standards

Your building surveyor checks your plans against the National Construction Code (NCC), which WA adopts through the Building Regulations 2012. You can use the edition of the NCC in force when you apply, or the edition in force 12 months earlier. Most NCC rules have a standard way to comply (called deemed-to-satisfy), but you can also use a different design if it meets the NCC’s performance requirements. Some rules that matter for a small home are:

Ceiling height: under the standard solution, habitable rooms other than kitchens need a ceiling at least 2.4 m high. Rooms with sloping ceilings and attics have their own rules.

Smoke alarms: smoke alarms must go in the locations the NCC sets, and if there’s more than one, they must be interconnected.

Termites: you need a termite management system if your area has a known risk of subterranean termites and the home’s main structural parts could be attacked by them.

Distance from other buildings: under the standard solution, an external wall less than 1.8 m from another building on the same lot must be built to resist fire. This doesn’t apply to a Class 10 building that goes with the home.

Energy efficiency: since 1 May 2025, the NCC 2022 energy efficiency rules have applied in WA. For a house, the standard way to comply is a 7-star NatHERS rating (a national rating of how much heating and cooling a home needs) plus a Whole-of-Home energy budget. WA has changed some details, so check with your building surveyor or energy assessor.

Bushfire: check the Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas. If your lot is in a designated bushfire prone area, the home must meet the NCC’s bushfire construction rules. The usual way to comply is AS 3959 (the Australian Standard for building in bushfire prone areas) or the NASH steel-framing standard, based on the site’s bushfire attack level (BAL). These rules don’t apply if your area was only designated as bushfire prone in the 4 months before you apply. A BAL-40 or Flame Zone rating also means you need development approval.

Water and sewer: Water Corporation says infrastructure contributions are usually payable when you add to the demand on its water and wastewater network. It also says the number of sewer connections doesn’t change the wastewater contribution. Ask Water Corporation what applies to your property before you build.

On-site wastewater: if your property isn’t connected to sewer, you need approval before installing a septic tank, composting toilet or other on-site system. You apply to your local government, which usually approves it. If the lot has more than one dwelling and the system will treat more than 540 litres a day, the Department of Health approves it instead.

A tiny home as your main house

A fixed tiny home can be the main house on its own lot, if your lot’s zoning in your council’s local planning scheme allows a single house. It must meet the National Construction Code, and we found no minimum floor area for a house in the parts of the NCC we checked. Under the NCC’s standard solution, a house needs a kitchen sink and cooking facilities, a bath or shower, a toilet, a washbasin, and a laundry (at least one washtub, with space for a washing machine in the same room).

Under the state’s planning regulations, you don’t need development approval (planning approval) for a single house if the R-Codes apply, your design meets the R-Codes’ deemed-to-comply standards, and the property isn’t heritage-protected. The same special control area and bushfire exceptions apply as for backyard tiny homes. In the Perth and Peel scheme areas, and in councils that choose to offer it, you can ask your council for written advice that your house is exempt, which it must give within 14 days. You still need a building permit.

Before you buy or build, check the Certificate of Title for restrictive covenants. These are restrictions registered on the title that limit how the land can be used or what can be built on it, and they bind future owners. Some limit things like the number of houses or the building materials you can use.

FAQs

Tiny home on wheels: only with council approval. Anyone living in it for more than 5 nights in any 28 days needs your permission as the landowner and written approval from your local government, which can be given for up to 24 months at a time. Check with your council whether its approval conditions cover a tenant.

Fixed backyard tiny home: yes. The R-Codes don’t limit who can live in an ancillary dwelling, and the state’s granny flat info sheet says you can build one to rent out. Before you rent it, check with RevenueWA about land tax and with Consumer Protection about your obligations as a landlord.

Tiny home on wheels: only within the caravan rules. Guests can stay up to 5 nights in any 28 days with your permission, and longer stays need local government approval. We found no state exemption that lets a tiny home on wheels run as an ongoing short-stay rental without approval, so check with your council.

Fixed backyard tiny home: yes, but you must first register it on the state’s Short-Term Rental Accommodation Register. Hosted stays (where you live on site) don’t need development approval anywhere in WA. In the Perth metropolitan region, unhosted stays don’t need development approval if the property is registered, it’s let for 90 nights or fewer in a 12-month period, and your zone doesn’t rule it out. Outside the Perth metropolitan region, your council decides whether unhosted stays need approval.

Tiny home on wheels: we found no state rule on whether a tiny home on wheels changes your rates or land tax. Ask your council and RevenueWA.

Fixed backyard tiny home: it’s likely to increase your council rates. On land used mainly for non-rural purposes, rates are based on the property’s gross rental value (GRV), which Landgate sets. Your council tells Landgate about new buildings, and Landgate updates the GRV. For land tax, your primary residence is generally exempt. But if part of the property isn’t used as your primary residence, the exemption only applies to the part that is. Ask RevenueWA how this applies if you rent out the tiny home.

Tiny home on wheels: if your local government approves a stay longer than 5 nights, it can require the site to have power, water, sewage and cooking facilities. Ask your council’s environmental health officer what it accepts for toilets and wastewater.

Fixed backyard tiny home: you need approval before installing a septic tank, composting toilet or other on-site sewage system. Your local government usually approves it. If the lot has more than one dwelling and the system will treat more than 540 litres a day, the Department of Health approves it instead. If your building work includes installing the system, the building permit can’t be granted until you have this approval.

Tiny home on wheels: a tiny home on wheels that counts as a caravan is a vehicle, so you can sell it on its own. Selling it doesn’t affect the land.

Fixed backyard tiny home: not without subdividing. Under the R-Codes, an ancillary dwelling is on the same site as another dwelling, so it can’t be sold separately while it’s on the same lot. Subdividing into green title or survey strata lots needs approval from the Western Australian Planning Commission, and each new lot must meet the R-Codes’ lot size requirements for its density code.

As of October 2026, we found no announced changes to WA’s state rules for tiny homes. One change is already set: WA adopted the 2025 edition of the National Construction Code on 1 May 2026. Building permit applications can still use the 2022 edition until 30 April 2027, and after that they must use the 2025 edition.

Comparing states? See how every state’s rules stack up in our state-by-state comparison.