After the Ottawa TinyHome.Show, I felt it was important to share information on our projects. We have 2 in the works, and our private property project will be of interest to landowners that want to build a community. This video provides information on the projects, and we will continue to share the details of the projects as we go, providing a blueprint for others to follow.
Less Space More Life is a podcast exploring the future of tiny home living. Hosted by Chad and Matt from the Tiny Home Association (tinytownassociation.com) in Barrie, Ontario (Canada), this series spotlight on the opportunities and benefits of environmentally sustainable micro-housing, as well as the challenges to creating these new paths to affordable housing and home ownership.
Come on in. Make yourself at home! Less Space More Life is a podcast exploring the future of tiny home living. Hosted by Chad and Matt from the Tiny Home Association (tinytownassociation.com) in Barrie, Ontario (Canada), this series spotlight on the opportunities and benefits of environmentally sustainable micro-housing, as well as the challenges to creating these new paths to affordable housing and home ownership.
Our friends at Rentals.ca shared the latest data they have compiled on rental trends across Canada for January 2024, and its not encouraging.
February 2024 Press Release
Asking Rents Hit Another Record High in Canada, Rising 10% Annually in January 2024
Toronto, Canada – February 14, 2024 – Average asking rent for all property types increased by 10.0% annually to $2,196, reaching another record high in January 2024, according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation’s latest National Rent Report.
This increase reflects a 0.8% month-over-month rise, pushing the annual rate of rent growth to a four-month high. Compared to January 2020, before the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, average asking rents have increased 20%, translating to a $373 per month increase.
“The Canadian rental market began 2024 where it left off in 2023, with rents surging to new highs,” said Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation. “However, an underlying narrative has emerged between softening rents in expensive markets and strengthening rents in more affordable markets. These shifts in demand are symptomatic of a worsening supply situation for rentals in Canada.”
Among different property types, purpose-built rental apartments witnessed the most substantial growth, with average asking rents increasing by 13.5% over the past year to $2,107. Condominium rentals followed, experiencing a 4.1% annual increase to average rents of $2,372 in January. Meanwhile, house rentals saw a 5.6% year-over-year increase, reaching an average of $2,352.
One-bedroom apartment rents saw an increase of 12.6% annually, reaching a record average of $2,146. Similarly, two-bedroom apartments saw an 11.0% surge in asking rents to an average of $2,334, while three-bedroom rents averaged $2,638, marking an 11.6% increase from the previous year. Studio apartments also experienced strong growth, with rents rising by 11.8% annually to reach an average of $1,595.
Regional disparities in rent growth were evident, with Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan leading with annual rent inflation rates of 19.1%, 17.8%, and 17.5% respectively. British Columbia maintained its position as the most expensive province, with average asking rents reaching $2,529 for purpose-built and condominium apartments in January, albeit with a slower annual growth rate of 2.3%.
In Canada’s largest cities, Edmonton surpassed Calgary in rent inflation, posting a 17.1% annual increase to an average of $1,479 for purpose-built and condominium rentals. Vancouver remained Canada’s most expensive city, despite a 3.0% decrease in rents from the previous year, with an average asking rent of $3,055. Toronto saw a modest 2.4% increase in rents over the past year, reaching $2,830 on average.
Roommate rents across Canada hit a record high of over $1,000, with average asking rents for shared accommodations increasing by 18.5% annually to $1,010 in January. Vancouver and Toronto recorded the highest roommate rents at $1,338 and $1,311 respectively.
________________________________________
The National Rent Report charts and analyzes monthly, quarterly and annual rates and trends in the rental market on national, provincial, and municipal levels across all listings on the Rentals.ca Network for Canada. The data from the digital rental platform Rentfaster.ca is incorporated into this report.
Rentals.ca Network data is analyzed and the report is written by Urbanation, a Toronto-based real estate research firm providing in-depth market analysis and consulting services since 1981.
*The data includes single-detached homes, semi-detached homes, townhouses, condominium apartments, rental apartments and basement apartments (outlier listings are removed, as are single-room rentals.)
Are you interested in tiny home communities? Are you looking to live in a community, invest in a community, or support a community? Fill out our 3-question form and we’ll keep you updated on our progress in your area of interest. Together we can have an impact on affordable housing options in Canada. Sign up today! Tiny Town Communities – Get Involved
We’re gaining traction and interest from individuals, investors, business, and the media. With over 50 people having competed our “I’m Interested” form on https://communities.tinytownassociation.com we’re getting a good feel for the interest and housing needs of people in Ontario.
Recently our projects were highlighted in the Canadian Business Owner, Multicultural Entrepreneurs Business Community Magazine. I am very grateful for Rasheed’s continued support and assistance in spreading the word across the business community about our efforts to create affordable, sustainable, accessible, eco-friendly communities.
Recently I was interviewed by Stephen Calverley for ElliotLakeToday.com about our proposed affordable, sustainable, eco-friendly tiny home community in Elliot Lake. With the need for more affordable starter homes, workforce, and seniors’ housing, our community model has the potential to check a lot of boxes. Our engineer is currently working with city staff to develop a site plan that meets development and building code requirements.
If you are a local contractor or supplier looking to support a development, let us know. We are looking to establish solid business relationships, as we work to build affordable communities across northern, central, and southern Ontario.
Thanks Rasheed, for the opportunity to share our affordable, tiny home community vision with your audience. The more we can get the word out, and help people to understand that our tiny home communities aren’t something to fear, they are just like any other, but smaller and more affordable. We feel our developments will also rekindle what has been lost in traditional housing, community. When the biggest room in your house is the outdoors, meeting and getting to know your neighbours is inevitable.
I had been talking to Loyalist Township about tiny home communities and felt there was interest. An opportunity came up to purchase a property I felt could make a good community, and as many people at the TinyHome.Show asked how they could start a community on land they owned, this seemed like an ideal test project.
I purchased the property, and we submitted this community design proposal. The property is 27-acres, zoned for a single-family dwelling, has no municipal water or sewage service, and backs onto other rural 2-acre residential properties, as well as woodland. Here is the township’s response:
Hi Ed,
Thanks for the additional information.
I can confirm that this will be a very complex project to undertake. Several planning applications will be required, including a Zoning By-law Amendment, Official Plan Amendment, Site Plan Control Application and Condo application. Given that the property is in the rural designation also complicates matters as the Township’s Official Plan states that the Township envisages that the rural settlement pattern will contain very limited residential development. The Official Plan also speaks to development being focussed to the urban settlement areas, where municipal services are available. The County of Lennox and Addington Official Plan also speaks to providing for limited residential development in the rural designation while focusing the growth to urban areas and rural settlement areas.
The community centre also has uses that are primarily directed to the Township’s hamlets or urban settlement areas. The development is also all proposed directly behind existing low density residential homes.
Communal systems are also quite complicated and there are currently none within the Township. These have to be approved by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and I believe the municipality has to enter into a municipal responsibility agreement that requires them to take responsibility for failed communal systems. In addition, the entire township is on a highly vulnerable aquifer.
Aside from the issues above, the plan you provided does not contain all the details we would need to understand the proposal (i.e. is the internal road a municipal road or a condo road etc). The plan also did not consider the property itself. For example, there appears to be a natural feature (watercourse) running across the property.
Based on our policy framework and what is being proposed, this proposal will be difficult to support in this location from a staff perspective. My recommendation would be to consult with a planner and engineer familiar with rural development and communal systems and also have the planner review our Official Plan in regards to the limiting rural residential development policies. We would need a full concept brought forward to us to provide any further comments on how the condominium would also truly be set up in addition to addressing the other items above. The concept plan would also have to take into account the actual property being looked at as well.
If you have any further questions at this time, feel free to reach out to me.
I appreciate the detailed response, and how they pointed out the potential challenges along with steps to address them. This is not a small, tiny home development, so if you are thinking of a few tiny homes on your property, you may face similar challenges, just easier to overcome. The communal waste and water services of a larger development will be one of the biggest challenges, as there are not many across Ontario, or Canada. This affordable housing development will be complex to bring together, which just means it will take longer, involve more people, and cost more than our other developments.
To stay informed of our progress in this and any Tiny Town community, subscribe to our newsletter. Its free and we don’t spam.
We have been talking to the City of Kingston for a while, and they had provided details on a 2+ acre parcel that we have proposed building 24-homes, a community center, storage lockers, gardens, gazebo, firepits, centralized parking, and lots of green space for the community to enjoy. We have planned a commercial kitchen with dining area where citizens can share a meal, a lounge to gather with neighbours, co-working space, small business space, and a coffee shop in the community center.
While discussions had stalled, recent funding options will hopefully breathe new life into this development. With the need for more affordable housing choices in the city, we bring a unique format that will expand rental and affordable-to-own options for many. We also plan to offer a rent-to-own program for those that would like to take the next step towards home ownership.
To stay informed of our progress in this and any Tiny Town community, subscribe to our newsletter. Its free and we don’t spam.
