With the housing affordability crisis leaving many young Canadians desperate, and the disenfranchised still homeless years after it first started, the federal government has decided that it needs to spring into action – and fast. Last week, we discussed tiny homes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some in government have suggested that tiny homes could become a top solution to the housing supply and cost problem, despite how small and unliveable they may be for the average person. Once quality of life is considered, the debate then shifts to include the matter of their size and comfort versus only considering the low cost. Is it more profitable or at least cheaper for the government to shove the homeless, students, refugees, or low-income Canadians into shacks resembling dog houses, or should we expect more given how much the average person already pays in taxes to live in this country?&nbsp;Further, how long would a project like the tiny home initiative take to become functioning in our country? The sad truth is that we have shown ourselves to be somewhat inept at building infrastructure. (Think about the 11 years it took to renovate a commuter train station in Toronto, or the LRT system in that city, or any other Canadian city for that matter, that is guaranteed to be over budget and long past it’s scheduled completion date.) If history is a guide, it seems that even 20 years in the future we could have little or no practical progress.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, with housing and housing affordability currently being one of the top three concerns for Canadians, the government is motivated to do something. They have chosen to look back in time for some inspiration. During the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, the Canadian government started building smaller one and two-story homes to accommodate the flood of soldiers coming back to Canada from the war. When you drive through some parts of a Canadian town, especially closer to their downtown, you can see these smaller, but by no means “tiny” houses everywhere. The wartime housing solution was proposed to assist with the affordability and supply issues that came along with the influx of young men returning from war, ready to start new families. Specifically, the Veteran’s Land Act of 1942 was introduced to accommodate as many people as possible with the most amount of land they can give each property as possible. Of course, the land of each home is larger where there is farmland. In areas of Hamilton, you can find many of these victory houses within the general vicinity of the then-booming steel factory, and in the shadow of the Tiger-Cats new home, Tom Horton’s Field. The homers are beautifully maintained, show pride of ownership, and actually look very comfortable. &nbsp;&nbsp;You may be wondering “what has taken so long?” Why, about 5 years after the housing crisis has shown its ugly head has this idea only just been introduced? Given that these houses were built in a two-decade span when the crisis emerged back in wartimes, don’t you think we would have gotten <img class="image-style-align-right" src="https://files.rifo.co/CompanySite/108/108_102 02.png">some progress to address our current situation done by now? Unfortunately, I am not here to answer those questions, however, the polling numbers referenced above may give us a hint and help us understand “the why now” better. It is hard to believe the process can possibly be THAT complicated, given that, according to Global News, hundreds of thousands of houses were built between the 1940s to the 1970s. In 2024, we have to be better than that. Pressure is building politically, however, as one party has made the promise to “get rid of the gatekeepers” and allow this type of activity to be done more quickly.&nbsp;While these homes are by no means mansions,&nbsp;it is no reason for the complains of tiny homes to be brought up. The average “victory home” or “strawberry box house” as the wartime housing homes were called, is around 1000 square feet. We can compare this to the average size of a tiny home which is around 400 square feet. Unlike a tiny home, these victory homes are not a fixture that could be thrown in someone’s backyard, but are standalone homes with their own, relatively spacious yards. These houses typically had two floors with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, along with your standard kitchen and living space. They are actually quite pleasant.&nbsp;According to Global News, the Wartime Housing Act focused on standardized housing blueprints and a faster rate for building. Global News says they could have been built in around 36 hours. Given that many of these houses across the province have been standing for over 80 years, the Wartime Housing Ltd was doing something right.&nbsp;Global News also describes a departure from the original wartime housing plan. Instead of building more standalone two-story homes, the plan is to stray into other types of houses. I’m not sure why the division needs to be made, but whatever. Pre-approved designs, however, do seem to be the way to go. Having as few obstacles as possible will be the best for the long line of Canadians waiting for a roof over their heads. Unless the government needs yet another excuse to delay helping to solve the problem.&nbsp;Recent political polling has identified three major areas of concern for Canadians; Jobs and the Economy, Inflation, and Housing and the Cost of Housing. As inflation seems to be slowly being brought under control, housing is bound to move up to the second spot. Next week we will investigate the potential for a free market solution, but one that may have unpleasant consequences for all of our futures. A cautionary tail.&nbsp;

Wartime Housing Act Revival

Analyzing Canada's housing challenge from wartime solutions to present initiatives

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