So you’re thinking of building a secondary unit, or units, on your property or home. In today’s world this option is becoming increasingly attractive to help combat rising costs of living and the housing crisis that is being experienced across Ontario.
However, key rules and regulations do apply when it comes to building accessory units where, how, and for what purpose, the municipality of Niagara-on-the-Lake will allow them.
Niagara is no exception to feeling the crunch of the growing housing crisis provincewide. The vacancy rate here is slim, from 1.1 percent on the low end in areas of Niagara Falls to just 3.4 percent in Welland-proper at the high end (note the high ends are good ends when it comes to vacancy rates).
When it comes to average rents, the closest indicator to NOTL, as reported in Rentals.ca's national rent report, is St. Catharines, where a one-bedroom apartment will run you $1,677 and a two-bedroom apartment a whopping $1,967 per month.
Comparatively, a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto costs an average of $2,428 a month, while a two-bedroom is $3,158 a month.
And while inflation dipped a bit from 8.1 percent in June of 2022 to a much better 2.5 percent this summer, it still costs a lot more today to buy a pound of butter than it did just a few short years ago.
Whether it be for more grocery money, taking care of aging parents, grown children trying to save for a home of their own or simply as an income supplement, accessory dwellings are being encouraged to help ease the housing crunch, but they do come with a host of rules to get started. Bill 23, passed by the Ontario government in 2022, slightly tweaked the allowances, now permitting residents to build up to two units on urban municipal properties.
“It allows for units within single detached, semi-detached or townhouse,” said Kirsten McCauley, director of community and development services for Niagara-on-the-Lake.
“You can have one within (the home) and then one detached as well.”
Existing or new garages do apply, added McCauley.
This could mean transforming an existing garage in its entirety to living space, or creating a loft-type scenario from space above the garage.
The year Bill 23 was passed, a presentation was made to NOTL council by Scott Robinson, then a development coordinator with John Hawley's Traditional Neighbourhood Developments Inc.
At the time, he shared with council that long-term rental units make up about 35 percent of the average town's housing market across Ontario, but that in NOTL, this number is 11 per cent.
"Think about who that's pricing out and excluding," he said then.
For all of the options Kirsten McCauley mentioned, there are Town zoning bylaw requirements that have to be met. Those requirements vary depending on how the property is zoned.
“You have to inquire on your particular property,” said McCauley. “But you have to meet your lot coverage, your setbacks, and you'd also need a building permit.”
Setbacks, she added, are the distance between the new dwelling to the property line. There are front yard, side yard and rear yard setbacks as well as setbacks between dwellings and the primary residence. Those distances vary depending on how the property is zoned. In NOTL, residential properties are zone residential 1 and residential 2.
“The individual would need to contact the Town to find out what their zoning requirements are,” said McCauley.
McCauley said there has been quite a bit of interest in constructing these types of dwellings in NOTL, but is reminding people that to get approval for a building permit, the dwelling must not be used as a short-term rental.
Richard Wright is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter based at The Lake Report.
