Tiny Home Initiative

The City of Kingston has recently proposed changes to the zoning by-laws that would allow, an Ontario Building Code compliant, tiny home as an Auxiliary Dwelling Unit (ADU) on a residential lot the already has a primary residence. These changes are to encourage the increase of affordable housing in already developed areas of the city.

The city currently allows ADUs that are within the primary dwelling in the form of basement apartments, however the changes would allow ADUs that are a separate building. There are several stipulations restricting where external ADUs may be built including lot size, site access, additional parking, etc. Where an appropriate site exists, an application may be made to build an ADU. If approved, a complete self-contained tiny home could be placed on the site and connected through the primary home’s connections to city sewer, water, hydro, cable, etc.

We are proposing to work with a homeowner that is located within the allowed area, and who’s home is on a lot that can accommodate a tiny home ADU, to submit an application, prepare the site, install a tiny home and connect it to their home’s services. This will allow us to go through (and document) the complete process to be made available to other homeowners interested in doing the same thing.

We are proposing to place an updated version of the Logan32 tiny home on the site. The home is completely self-contained and includes the following amenities:

Queen-sized bed, wardrobe, couch, dining table and chairs, sink, stove, fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer, shower, vanity, toilet, natural gas heating, air-conditioning, lighting, windows, doors, locks and deck.

The Logan32 will be built by a local builder and delivered to the property when complete and the site is ready to receive the tiny home.

The City of Kingston currently offers a grant to homeowners that want to build an ADU up to $15,000, that can be utilized to create service connections, prepare the site, add parking, build access, and building costs.

https://www.cityofkingston.ca/residents/community-services/housing/programs/secondary-suites#ssgrant

In addition, Charities and not-for-profit organizations may now apply for one-time grants of up to $25,000 through the Community Investment Fund.

Funded by the City of Kingston and United Way KFL&A, the Community Investment Fund aims to support local programs and projects to encourage an innovative and collaborative response to social needs in our community.

As a not-for-profit Association, we can apply for a grant that can be used to significantly reduce the cost of a tiny home.

https://www.unitedwaykfla.ca/funding

Together these programs can cover most of the cost of putting a tiny home as an ADU on one participant’s property.

If you are interested in proposing your property for the project, please complete and submit the form below (coming soon). We will contact you to discuss further details.