About a year ago we spoke about tiny houses and how they could be a possible affordable option for those of us (most of us as first-time buyers) who are struggling to get into the housing market. To refresh our minds, in this first of a two-part series, let’s go over what tiny houses are and how they have evolved in Canada. Then, next week, we’ll compare and contrast what the government is suggesting Canadians do about housing through their “War-Time” housing initiative and see how tiny houses fit in there.&nbsp;Tiny houses held a moment of popularity on social media platforms for part of the past few years. Specifically, the concept gained attention on YouTube, where people would document their lives in tiny houses, an experience so different and atypical from what most of us are used to. I think of this as similar to “van life” bloggers, those who live off of the grid, departing from societal norms, and cram their lives into such a small space. We may ask ourselves, “why would anyone do that?” The main answer these bloggers give usually involves around environmental reasons or the need for a social detox, with cost of living being a secondary reason. (We also have to remember that being a blogger is a business. Some of them do it because they are paid to do it.)&nbsp;On a website called Tiny Homes in Canada, we can find a 32-foot-long tiny home in Hamilton, Ontario going for $174,900. By today’s standards, we can probably agree that this is affordable, especially when compared to a 0 bedroom condo for a cool $600K on sale in Toronto’s Financial District. However, it is slightly odd that a tiny house, known for being a drastically affordable option, costs the same as a normal sized detached home did only a few decades ago. In a way, tiny homes represent our dystopian reality reflected by the current state of the housing market.&nbsp;The Financial Post reports that many experts believe that the tiny house trend is only a “modest” solution to the housing problem. They point to the cost of land being a major contributor to housing prices, not necessarily only the size of a home. They say “In Canada’s cities, where plots of land are expensive and hard to come by, building a small home may not be a cheaper alternative if high prices have shut you out of the condo market.”&nbsp;Another example of a barrier to the tiny home solution are building codes. Specifically, the province has minimum square footage for rooms in a home. In some tiny homes, children sleep in a cubby-like frame stacked on top of each other with barely enough room to sit up.&nbsp;&nbsp;What most people may agree to be the main barrier is the lifestyle shift. The Financial Post brings up a good point; it’s not just a matter of affordability, but it is a major lifestyle preference. Like we saw demonstrated by the YouTube videos, the main motivation for tiny home life is the lifestyle switch. To move from a larger home, mostly in cities, to a cramped space where your bed comes out of the wall near your dining table is largely influenced by the trendy shift to minimalism.&nbsp;The Calgary Herald mentions a frustrating barrier to the tiny home solution through zoning. They call it the “not in my backyard narrative,” where investors and homeowners think their property values will drop and their neighborhoods will look less desirable. The Calgary Herald says there is no evidence that affordable housing initiatives affect neighboring property values. The Calgary Herald also reports that if even only 2% of homeowners put a tiny home in their backyard, 350,000 spaces will be created. They also compare the cost to the government of homeless people at $80,000 to the cost of a tiny home at $40,000 suggesting the tiny home solution is a no brainer.&nbsp;&nbsp;To expect Canadians to give up the normal lifestyle that should be reasonably attainable in a First World nation, and with it a real livable space that can accommodate our needs, creates a major ethical dilemma. Is the solution to unaffordable housing expecting Canadians to cram their lives like sardines into a space quite as small as a tiny home? Are government policy failures justification for this sacrifice? Don’t governments have a responsibility, in fact a moral obligation, to do their part to restore normalcy, thereby allowing Canadians to live at the level that we are capable of creating as a nation? Before tiny house are seen as the answer, shouldn’t we first consider lowering taxes, especially those that increase the cost of housing? Shouldn’t we consider creating the conditions that will allow businesses to thrive and allow young people to find meaningful work and wages?&nbsp;While it can be a fast and inexpensive solution, should we expect Canadians to live in a tiny home? Is it worth it to put a roof over Canadians’s heads even if it means their living conditions are classified as notoriously tiny? It is an issue that needs to be discovered deeper. We are focused on building vertically and trying to maximize the use of the land we are taking up. Let’s face it, others have done it. What is the difference between a tiny space and a coffin apartment seen in other parts of the world? The difference is that we have the second largest country by land mass in the world. Unfortunately, our government is pretty big too.&nbsp;Next week we’ll review the government’s idea to resurrect the War-Time housing plan - from the 1940’s.&nbsp;

Tiny Houses: Is This the Right Solution for Canada?

Tiny houses in Canada: A potential affordable housing solution or just a trendy lifestyle shift in 2024?

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