Donna Badorek and her mum Jacqueline in front of Donna's tiny home which she must now get resource consent for. Photo / supplied
Donna Badorek and her mum Jacqueline in front of Donna's tiny home which she must now get resource consent for. Photo / supplied
A Far North rescue group which has saved hundreds of neglected and abused animals is now scrambling for help after someone reported their unconsented tiny homes to the authorities.
Donna Badorek, who runs Donna Doolittle's Animal Rescue, and her mum Jacqueline need thousands of dollars to get their two tinyhomes consented following a complaint to the Far North District Council.
The pair sold their own previous houses a few years ago and bought piece of land in Kaitāia with the aim of building a larger kennel complex with upgraded facilities to allow them to rescue more animals.
Most of the money from the sales went into the 4.5ha block and there was "a bit left over" to put two small roofs over their own heads.
Badorek, a veterinary nurse, put a 28 sq m tiny home on the site, and her mum lives nearby in a 48 sq m container home.
"Not long after that the Far North District Council came down our driveway wanting to take pictures of the property.
"They also saw mum's house so that's come into the equation."
Badorek was told to get an engineers report and a certificate of acceptance, which has cost over $2300.
Donna Badorek, from Donna Doolittle's Animal Rescue, and her mum need thousands of dollars to get their two tiny homes consented following a complaint to the Far North District Council. Photo / file
"That's just the tip of the iceberg," she said.
"We're looking at having to have site plans done, resource consent, I have to jack up my house and bolt it into the ground, get approval for where the wastewater goes... it's a whole bunch of stuff.
"Mum and I don't have any money to do these consents. We just don't have it."
A Givealittle page set up to help them get the necessary consents for their property has so far raised nearly $7500.
Badorek said she has also received loads of offers of help and consulting advice from professionals from Northland and Auckland.
Council district services general manager Dr Dean Myburgh said council received a complaint about illegal earthworks, additional residential units and a potential dog kennel on the site in November.
A site visit found two unauthorised dwellings, he said.
"Council staff advised the owner that both building and resource consent would be required for the buildings.
"From a Building Act perspective, residential dwellings, irrespective of size, require a building consent."
Myburgh said the district plan rules limit the number of dwellings permitted on any property.
Badorek's property is in a Rural Production zone which means residential developments must be limited to one unit per 12ha of land, he said.
"This property will require a resource consent to keep both dwellings.
"Council will work with the owners to advise on what is needed to bring the property into compliance."
Badorek said her tiny home was built by a professional builder in Whangārei, and the electrics and plumbing have also been done by qualified people.
She has the certificates to prove the works have been carried out safely.
"We were aware there were consents we needed to get, but if we got those we couldn't afford the homes," she said.
"Everything we did was with the focus of being a better animal rescue with better facilities and more land for them to run around.
