Teena left an abusive marriage and couch surfed for years before finding a tiny home. Now she could be homeless because of a ‘ridiculous’ reason
A woman who fled an abusive marriage and moved into a small house on her friend’s property could be homeless because of the ‘ridiculous’ demand from a municipality.
Teena Keys moved back to Geelong, in Victoria, after leaving an abusive marriage and losing her housekeeping business when the pandemic hit.
After three years of couch surfing and being turned down for 60 rental properties, she finally decided to build a small house on her friend’s 100-acre estate.
Ms. Keys built what she described as “a portable construction hut” on the land for just under $20,000.
But the City of Greater Geelong council is not happy with the arrangement the two friends reached late last year.
Teena Keys moved back to Geelong after leaving an abusive marriage and losing her housekeeping business when the pandemic hit.
Ms Keys built what she described as “a portable construction hut” on her friend’s land late last year for just under $20,000.
Ms Keys has been notified that she must apply for a permit to remain on the property and has been given 60 days to comply.
She said the cost of the application, which could be reversed, would effectively bankrupt her by the time she hires a city planner and files the paperwork.
“Then if I file, it can still be reversed even if I have to pay $2,000. And this is all before they even get to the cabin,” she shared Yahoo.
‘I need a structural engineer for that, so the structural engineer alone costs about $3,000.’
Ms Keys called the council’s demand ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unfair’ as her friend had invited her to live on the private property.
She got a loan to buy and renovate the house, thinking she finally had some stability a roof over her head.
“During Covid I was on the bench for about three years, I had no stability. Losing the business just put me on the back burner,” she said.
“You know, you don’t expect to be here at this age. You don’t expect to be where I am.’
Ms Keys said it is sad to see so many people struggling due to a dire lack of housing in Geelong and urged the council to act with common sense.
Fearing she will become homeless again, Ms Keys said the ordeal has been difficult to cope with.
She said it is sad to see so many people struggling due to the dire lack of housing in Geelong and urged the council to take a common sense response.
Mrs. Keys does calling on local authorities not to make it more difficult for people seeking their own solutions amid a cost of living crisis.
“Wouldn’t it be great to get people off the streets, out of their cars and into small houses on sites that are otherwise often occupied only by ‘lonely farmers’,” she said.
a GoFundMe was established in support of Mrs. Keys.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Geelong Council for comment.
