Editor:
The housing crisis isn’t going to be solved solely by building towers near SkyTrain stations.
It’s a complex problem and we need to address it as such. Laneway houses are one of many opportunities to improve this. At this stage, we should be using every policy available to increase our housing supply and provide homes for local residents.
Laneway houses are good for renters. Renters have diverse needs, and our housing stock should reflect that. Not every renter desires to live in an apartment complex, and we shouldn’t be forcing them further and further outside the city to find something affordable. That is simply not sustainable. Laneway houses offer privacy and can allow renters the opportunity to start families away from some arterial highrise.
Laneway houses are good for homeowners. Homeowners can build more equity on their property, while also maintaining the security and privacy of their personal home, by creating these smaller secondary living spaces. All it requires is the sacrifice of a few square metres of grass.
Laneway houses are good for communities. Studies have repeatedly shown that mixed-income communities are far more civically minded, diverse and safe. It creates upward mobility for those who rent and improves public goods and services.
Single-family zoning makes housing unattainable for many without generational wealth. There’s a good argument that single-family zoning is racist, as it excludes marginalized folks by design.
Historically, Black and Indigenous peoples were blocked from making these purchases based on who was allowed to take out the loans that would be required for such an investment. Since then, we’ve sanitized this process - you can’t get in if you’re not already wealthy and it’s near impossible to build that wealth if you are paying someone else’s mortgage without accruing any equity for yourself.
And anyway, the Globe and Mail has published reports that laneway houses increase the value of the property, more than the cost of construction, by an average of $260,000. So even if you do move, build a laneway first and reap the increase in your sale price.
Tyler Petersen, Burnaby
