Candid Tiny House
Candid Tiny House is an Australian podcast about the real experience of building, living, and advocating for tiny houses on wheels.
Hosted by Shannon Schultz from Fred’s Tiny Houses, the podcast features honest, candid conversations with people who have built their own tiny houses in Australia, taken workshops or online courses with Fred, and navigated the full journey from planning to living tiny.
Instead of glossy social media posts or idealised tiny house tours, Candid Tiny House focuses on the realities of designing, building, and living in a tiny house that is both a safe road vehicle and a comfortable home.
Across the series, guests share lessons learned, challenges overcome, and insights gained — from technical building tips and budgeting, to problem-solving, community support, and the physical and emotional demands of a tiny house project.
You can also watch video interviews, tours, and build footage on the Fred’s Tiny Houses YouTube channel, and see photos and articles about each build on the Fred’s Tiny Houses blog.
Season 1 – Building Tiny Houses on Wheels
Season 1 introduces listeners to clients who took a Fred’s Tiny Houses trailer, workshop, or online course and then built their own homes.
These interviews dig into the reality of the build:
- The financial costs and savings
- What they wish they knew before starting
- Injuries, setbacks, and community support
- Creative compromises and innovations
Season 1 focuses on DIY builds in Australia, giving builders practical lessons and inspiration for designing a home that works both on the road and year-round.
Season 2 – Advocacy in Action: Changing the Law for Tiny Houses
Season 2 is a documentary-style series that tracks a small Australian town’s three-year journey and two attempts to change local laws to support tiny house living.
Listeners follow the advocacy process from start to finish, learning how grassroots communities can:
- Build awareness and support for tiny house-friendly policies
- Navigate local councils and legal frameworks
- Organise campaigns and gather community backing
- Turn setbacks into victories
This season is a how-to guide for tiny house advocacy, showing that change is possible when communities work together.
Season 3 – Life After the Build
Season 3 revisits past clients who have now lived in their tiny houses and can reflect on the full journey — from early building stages to everyday tiny house life.
Guests share stories of:
- Families living with children and even having home births in tiny houses
- Builders achieving financial freedom by reducing housing costs
- People who used their tiny house build as a stepping stone into hands-on construction skills
- Couples and individuals adapting their design as their lives evolved
These candid conversations offer invaluable insights for anyone considering a DIY tiny house build in Australia and show the real rewards — and challenges — of tiny house living.
Candid Tiny House – Real people. Real builds. Real stories.
Hosted by Shannon Schultz from Fred’s Tiny Houses, supporting Australians to build their own tiny houses, advocate for tiny house-friendly policies, and learn from people who’ve walked the path before them.
Candid Tiny House
Uptake, Obstacles and the Future
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
This episode we are looking at present day uptake of the tiny house local laws, and we talk about some of the remaining obstacles to overcome when it comes to tiny house living and hosting in our area.
We examine the grey water processing issue: what the limits are and how to work around them.
We discuss the clause that states that there should be no 'commercial relationship' between tiny house dweller and land owner.
We discuss creating contracts to underpin the relationship between tiny house owner or occupier and the land owner.
We hear from different people who are offering a place for tiny house dwellers to park on their private property, and their different motivations for seeking out a tiny house arrangement.
With a discussion about what is happening at the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) level, and how to overcome these remaining obstacles in the future, we have a look at what is next in the ongoing pursuit of better tiny house laws across Victoria.
Finally, we hear from Kathryn McGoldrick, tiny house dweller and advocate, who now has a place to call home because of the tiny house law change. And we hear from Fred Schultz about what it was like to finally get an outcome that created meaningful change for people in our community.
Episode page.
How To Build a Tiny House - Australian Online Course
Tiny House Trailers
