Laneway Homes: Innovation to increase housing supply

Laneway suites have the potential to help boost much-needed housing supply in Toronto, including increasing the number of rental units.

City Councillors Ana Bailao and Mary-Margaret McMahon have taken the lead on bringing laneway housing to the city, and Toronto and East York Community Council recently gave staff the green light to proceed with the next steps for laneway homes.

A laneway home is just that – a house built in an existing laneway. It’s a small structure that is detached from the main house and is typically at the back of a residential lot that is along a laneway or alley. All of the suite’s services such as water, sewer, electricity and gas come from the main house, and its door faces the laneway or alley.

Laneway housing offers several benefits. Besides providing people with another home-ownership option and more affordable quality rental housing, it can be a great alternative for adult children, empty nesters and aging parents who want to be near their family and still maintain their privacy.

Laneway housing has been adopted by municipalities across Canada such as Vancouver, Ottawa and Regina.

With more than 2,400 publicly owned laneways covering more than 250 kilometres of public space, Toronto has a lot of potential for developing laneway housing. This idle space within existing neighbourhoods could provide small dwellings that are also close to essential things like transit, parks and shops.

Adding more small-scale housing to these established neighbourhoods could also prevent communities from deteriorating. A study from 2015, Make Way for Laneway, shows that the population of some older GTA neighbourhoods is decreasing as residents age and their children move out. Introducing laneway suites could help older neighbourhoods thrive. by enabling more people to move in.

Residents are often worried about how development will affect their neighbourhoods and don’t want things to change. With laneway housing, density increases slowly and the look and feel of lowrise residential neighbourhoods is maintained. Cities that allow laneway housing have found that adding this type of gentle density within established neighbourhoods can happen without changing the community’s original appeal and balance.

Under the current zoning by-law, laneway suites are not allowed in Toronto, although some have been considered on a case-by-case basis. Such requests involve an arduous process plus excessive costs. As part of the plan to move forward with laneway homes, the report proposes that the City do away with these obstacles, and make changes to the by-law that will permit and help such suites to be built.

Allowing laneway homes would be a significant step in creating more innovative housing options and offering people housing choices that are more affordable.