Invisible Homes: Toronto Laneway Housing
It’s no secret amongst policymakers in Toronto that a burgeoning laneway housing economy exists beyond the scope of contemporary city policy. A walk down alleyways in the Annex illustrates just how pervasive laneway housing has become without an official ‘okay’ from policymakers. What does this underground above-ground-dwelling economy mean for the future of legal laneway homes in Toronto?
Firstly, I think it’s important to make a distinction between the two existing types of laneway housing. There are legal laneway houses in Toronto, “laneway suites,” which have been implemented on a trial basis; a report on this type of housing was made public by Evergreen, Lanescape, and the City in 2017. These suites are regulated by the City and are approved on a case-by-case basis.
The second time of laneway suites are those which have not been approved as part of the pilot project, and they fall into two subcategories: Laneway houses built to code which meet the regulatory guidelines set by the City, which will presumably be grandfathered into new City legislation, and laneway houses which are built haphazardly (see above) without regard to City regulations, which will likely not receive legal recognition.
Considering the health implications of an unsafe home (fire, emergency services, mold, etc.), there is an imperative for the City to better enforce existing (and future) regulations. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that a City-wide search for laneway houses would net positive responses, nor would such a search find be entirely successful lane because laneway suites are notoriously good at blending into laneway spaces. In light of these complications, I propose an alternative tactic: amnesty.
If the City unveils a plan to legalize laneway suites, the legislation should include a provision to provide amnesty for current laneway suite owners to come forward to have their suite inspected by City staff. Owners that come forward would be given the opportunity to make changes to their suite in order to satisfy new regulations. Owners that do not come forward during the amnesty period should face financial repercussions and fines from the City.
Invisible laneway homes will continue to exist after legalization with an amnesty program. An amnesty program could help address this divide.
