When my dad died last year I started thinking about what my mom’s life would look like without him; What did it mean for her to live alone in a big home and how I could make her life better by living closer to us. My mom isn’t accustomed to condo life; although she’d fair well there. Living on her own, in the city, near us, is the best option. Our neighbourhoods are expensive and buying a separate house isn’t a viable option for a single woman with no income; above all, living with us is the best idea.
The term “gentle density” is being used to describe a way in which we can bring more people into neighbourhoods without building massive towers or knocking down big homes to build multiple smaller ones in their place. With gentle density, we can enrich our neighbourhoods and families’ with multigenerational living arrangements.
Now, in no way am I advocating for your mother living IN your home with your new husband and two kids…but living ON your property sounds like the perfect scenario.
This leads me to…
Garden Suites
This week the city of Toronto dismissed an appeal from a variety of Toronto neighbourhood associations that were trying to block the approval of garden suites or secondary suites on properties.
As a result of yesterday’s dismissal, garden suites are permitted across all Toronto neighbourhoods.
How to know if you are eligible for a garden suite?
- The property must be rectangular in shape and have two adjacent properties that are of a similar size
- Must have a minimum of 16.4 feet setback from the existing house
- You must have a clear emergency access path
- Must not disrupt protected trees
How big can it be?
- The garden suite can be a maximum of 645 sqft per floor. As a result, 1291 sqft is possible for two floors and up to 1936 sqft if you have a basement.
- The height of the garden suite can be up to 6 metres for two-story builds
- Must be a max of 40% of the rear yard
You must have 25-50% soft landscaping ( this means permeable landscaping for water drainage)
What else do I need to do?
- Submit a formal application to the city to build a garden suite
- Post a public notice on the existing property for neighbours to be made aware of it.
In short; contact us to learn more about garden suites, how to know if your property qualifies or to help you find a property for sale that does qualify for a garden suite.
