Affordable housing can mean…

Affordable housing can mean so many things. What is affordable to one, is not to another. Home ownership does not need to be the norm. It is only since World War II that home ownership of single detached houses for 1 family was advertised as the goal instead of just an option. A recent W5 documentary on the housing crisis indicated that approximately 30% of people rented yet nothing was being done to help this sector.

I live in a small town of 18,000 people. There have been many small businesses who have built brand new offices and stores that are single storey. If these owners were encouraged to include extra stories for housing above their shops, perhaps by giving them incentives, additional housing would be gained.

Churches and schools are being closed, some of which have been turned into housing. This practice should be encouraged. Demolision is not the answer.

Make it easier for people to make secondary suites in their house, convert garages into suites, add laneway or garden houses.

Pre-fab modular homes are often restricted in municiplities. Rather than outlaw them, encourage the building of this type of house within the municipality and not just in dedicated parks. Manufacturers can design these types of houses so that they will fit aesthetically into neighbourhood, but so far there has been little need because of municipality restrictions. This results in very plain structures referred to as trailers that many neighbours wouldn’t want to see on their streets in fear that it will lower their property values. Pre-fab, modular, 3D printed homes are the wave of the future and needs a place in all municipalities.