The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal refused an application seeking existing use rights for accommodation and, in a separate finding, upheld Greater Shepparton City Council’s application for an enforcement order.
Under the terms of the order, the owners have until July 24 to remove the internal fit-out of the kitchen, including plumbing fixtures, cooking facilities and other food preparation facilities including all cabinetry.
They must also remove the internal fit-out of the laundry, including all plumbing fixtures and cabinetry.
All plumbing pipes in the kitchen and laundry must then be sealed and rendered unusable.
The occupancy came to light during a council audit recommended by Coroner Audrey Jamieson following an inquest into the death of 58-year-old Robert Anstice in a fire on a Watt Rd property in September, 2015.
Mr Anstice had self-built a corrugated iron and chipboard dwelling without a permit and had occupied it for 16 years without coming to the attention of authorities. The Coroner recommended the council audit properties assumed to be uninhabited and better use its authority under the Building Act to investigate.
VCAT was told by the occupants they had created a comfortable riverside oasis, and being forced to cease living in the shed would cause “real hardship”.
They did not wish to comment on the VCAT findings.
VCAT Senior Member Geoffrey Code said the original permit for the made it clear it should not be inhabited but over number of years the occupants added kitchen, toilet, bathroom and laundry facilities of a nature consistent with ongoing or permanent occupation.
“Although it appears the council was not aware of the habitation until more than a decade later, that lack of knowledge and subsequent failure to act swiftly is not a sufficient reason to refuse the application for an enforcement order,” he said.
“A municipal council is unlikely to have the resources to promptly investigate and enforce every potential contravention in its municipal district.”
The council is not seeking the demolition of the shed, or the removal of toilets.
The shed was built with a permit and VCAT ruled in 1998 the presence of toilet facilities and the eating of picnic-style food were consistent with regular visits to maintain the subject land.
The occupants argued the shed is above the urban flood zone but Senior Member Code said altering the planning scheme to allow occupation was a matter for the council, not VCAT.
