opinions // no. 12 theotherpress.ca

 

Joseph Astana
Contributor

 

re you tired of dingy basement suite rentals?

How about being stuck with a dirty roommate
who never cleans up? Maybe you live at home
but you're ready to move out and you want to live
somewhere more stable and ina place that is your
own. If you are part of any of those categories, you
have probably been forced to realize that Vancouver
is absurdly expensive if you want to own a place.

In fact, Vancouver is the most expensive housing
market in Canada and amongst the most expensive
in the world.

One thing that I always notice when I am
walking around the various neighbourhoods of
Vancouver is the numerous empty lots. Many of
these lots sit undeveloped for years while people
struggle to find housing; I think it would be best if
Vancouver allowed tiny houses on these lots. That

  

6¢

With the benefits being
more jobs for locals
and more housing
because of those
jobs, why haven't we
done this already?

  

 

way, people would have an affordable, sustainable,
and space-efficient place to live within city borders;
plus, tiny homes built on wheels are transportable
and therefore easy to move.

The tiny house movement has sprung to
popularity over the past few years as a by-product of
housing unaffordability and the growing need for
densification. Unfortunately, here in Vancouver, you
cannot live in a house under 400 sq/ft. I’m sure that
few people want to live in the really tiny houses that
are like the size of a closet, but many of the nicer tiny
homes made by companies like BC-based Mint Tiny
House Company are quite luxurious and comfy.

Speaking of BC-based companies, an added
benefit of allowing tiny homes in Vancouver is that it
will provide entrepreneurial and job opportunities in
the community. Carpenters and other builders will
be able to get good work building homes for people
and this will do good things for our local economy.
On top of that, it will help our local population have
places to live that are both flexible and affordable. So,

 

with the benefits being more jobs for locals and more
housing because of those jobs, why haven't we done
this already?

As I mentioned empty lots and space efficiency
earlier, I think it's worth pointing out that because
tiny houses are roughly the size of an RV, there are
more places for them to be parked. For instance,
someone could rent out a portion of their backyard
as a parking space and help that way. On top of
densification, these tiny houses can be built quicker
than full-size houses that would take months to erect
but would be limited to one or two families. One
normal-sized lot that someone might build a house
on could easily fit 4 or more tiny houses, which in
turn would help to combat the urban sprawl.

Hopefully, the Vancouver city council will get
around to changing the rules on tiny houses so that
people can get better places to live. I’m sure I’m not
the only person who would love to see more varied
housing options in the city.

Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne