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 tiny home on her friend's property could be homeless because of a council's 'ridiculous' demand. 

Teena Keys moved back to Geelong, in Victoria, after leaving a violent marriage and  losing her housekeeping business when the pandemic hit.

After couch surfing for three years and being rejected from 60 rental properties, she eventually decided to build a tiny home on her friend's 100-acre property. 

Ms Keys built what she described as 'a relocatable site hut' on the land for just under $20,000. 

But the City of Greater Geelong Council are not happy with the arrangement that the two friends came to late last year.

Ms Keys received notice that she would be required to 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 knocked back, would effectively send her broke by the time she hires a town planner and submits the paperwork.
 
'Then when I do put the application in, it can still be knocked back, even though I'll have to pay $2,000. And this is all before they even come to the cabin,' she told Yahoo.

'I've got to get a building surveyor for that, so the building surveyor alone will be around $3,000.'  

Ms Keys called council's demand 'ridiculous' and 'unfair' given she was invited to live on the privately-owned property by her friend.  

She got a loan to purchase the home and fix it up, thinking she finally had some stability and a roof over her head. 

'During Covid, I was couch surfing for around three years, I didn't have stability. Losing the business, it just put me on the back,' she said.

'You know, you don't expect to be here at this age. You don't expect to be where I'm at.'

Fearing she will become homeless again, Ms Keys said the ordeal has been difficult to come to terms with. 

She said it's sad to see so many people doing it tough because of a dire lack of housing in Geelong and is urging the council to take a common sense approach. 

Ms Keys is calling on local authorities not to make things harder for people who are finding their own solutions in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. 

'Wouldn't it be fabulous to get people off the streets and out of their cars and into small homes on properties that are otherwise often only inhabited by "lonely farmers",' she said.  

A GoFundMe has been set up to support Ms Keys. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Geelong Council for comment.