Laneway homes coming to Burnaby as city tries to battle housing crisis

Laneway homes will soon be popping up across Burnaby, B.C., thanks to a change in the city's zoning bylaws.

For Jacqueline Dupuis, executive director of Aunt Leah's Foundation, news of city council's decision and the opening of permit applications on Monday, is a welcome relief. 

The organization, which provides housing to young mothers and women who've been involved in the foster care system, has plans to build a laneway home behind one of its existing multi-family houses in Burnaby. In anticipation of the rule change, the group began planning the expansion about a year ago, and has a waiting list of eligible occupants.

"We've got a beautiful plot of land in the backyard that is ready for a laneway home," Dupuis said.

The two-storey, 1,500-square-foot home will have the potential to house three moms and their babies. The project is expected to cost $600,000, and fundraising for the project through major grants and donors is ongoing.

"We're really excited to be able to add some more units so that we can provide safe and affordable housing for more moms," she said.

Burnaby, a suburban city of about 250,000, is composed primarily of single-family homes. However, it's also a stronghold for older low-rise apartment buildings and an ever-growing collection of modern highrises which are grouped around SkyTrain stations. 

Single-home lots in Burnaby are notably large, and the population density is about half of Vancouver's. Despite its comparatively low density, Burnaby's approval of laneway homes comes 14 years after Vancouver made the shift.

In a statement, Burnaby's public affairs manager said city staff expect many laneway homes to be built as intergenerational housing, providing grandparents or young families a separate house on a family-owned lot.

Makiko Ara, a homeowner and property manager, envisions building a laneway home both on the property where she lives with her family and a rental property she owns. 

The laneway home on the family property would create more housing for relatives, while the laneway home on the rental property is an investment.

An older three-bedroom home is currently sitting on the large rental lot. She plans to knock its garage down, to make way for a two-storey, two-bedroom laneway rental house.

"We've been looking at how we can maximize this property," she said.

Ara expects the construction to cost between $400,000 and $500,000, making it a solid investment when compared to the price of buying a similar sized condo. Once she has a building permit, construction is expected to take about six months.