Laneway Houses

[Darts]

Tell me everything you know about "laneway houses".

Apparently, converting your garage at the back of your house to living quarters is one means of reducing the current housing shortage in Toronto.

Whose permission does one need to do the conversion? Who to hire to do the conversion? Once the conversion is complete can you sell the converted garage separate from the main house?

 

[Frankfooter]

Tell me everything you know about "laneway houses".

Apparently, converting your garage at the back of your house to living quarters is one means of reducing the current housing shortage in Toronto.

Whose permission does one need to do the conversion? Who to hire to do the conversion? Once the conversion is complete can you sell the converted garage separate from the main house?

It has to be built off of the main houses services, so no, it can't ever be a separate property.
There are specific codes now for sizes and space.

 

[james t kirk]

I don't think there's really that much of a "housing shortage" in Toronto.

If you want to legally convert a garage to a living space, you need to do the following.

1. Apply for and be granted a zoning variance with the city of Toronto. The existing garage is not considered living space and will not have been included in the lot coverage calculation, nor will it necessarily conform to the side lot requirements.

To apply for a variance, you will need to first hire a registered Ontario Land Surveyor to shoot your lot and the structures on it and prepare a detailed site plan. Plan must be sealed.

Next you will need to prepare a detailed set of design drawings that show what you are proposing. To do this you need to hire an Architect or Engineer skilled in the design of residential dwellings and they need to be tasked with preparing drawings for the purpose of submitting to the Committee of Adjustment and ultimately the Building Department.

2. Once you have all of the above you or your Architect / Engineer ( working on hour behalf) will need to apply to the Committee of Adjustment for a variance.

3. Now the fun starts.

4. Your application will be reviewed first by the zoning people to determine where it violates the City's current Plan Act.

4a. Pay the fee.

5. They will prepare a report and based on that you will submit with your application to the Committee of Adjustment.

6. Pay the fee.

7. The committee will notify all your neighbours of your intentions and a date for your hearing with the Committee of Adjustment will be set.

8. Show up at the hearing as scheduled and on time with your Architect or Engineer. You will be given your opportunity to make your pitch to the committee (there are 3 "judges"). They will ask the gallery if there is anyone present who is opposed to the application. (Read you.). Pray no one stands up because if they do, in your case, you will lose.

9. The committee then votes on your application based on what they feel the rest of the neighbourhood is like. It's a crap shoot how it could go.

I strongly urge you to have signed letters of support from your neighbours on all sides to help your case. Can't emphasize this enough. Also, if there is anyone else in the vicinity that has done the same thing.

10. If you get your variance, there is a mandatory wait period of 2 or 3 weeks in case anyone wants to appeal.

11. Expect the whole variance process to take 6 to 8 months.

12. Once you get your variance, and only once you get the variance, you can apply for a Building Permit. You will need to submit full detailed drawings (site plan, drainage plan, architectural designs, structural designs, HVAC designs and calculations, etc.)

13. Pay the fee.

This will take another 6 months minimum and expect at least one round of required revisions based on requests from the building department.

Once you have your building permit, you are free to start the work.

FYI if you should fail to receive approval at any stage, For any reason, you don't get your money back. It's a one way street.

 

[Jasmine Raine]

^^^ I was going to say you are the guy to ask. LOL.

OP - listen to James on this one.

 

[oldjones]

Tell me everything you know about "laneway houses".

Apparently, converting your garage at the back of your house to living quarters is one means of reducing the current housing shortage in Toronto.

Whose permission does one need to do the conversion? Who to hire to do the conversion? Once the conversion is complete can you sell the converted garage separate from the main house?

The one that fronts on a laneway around the corner from me is a complete, multi-story architected house, not a converted garage. And you have to take the word 'laneway' as a serious essential. No one is talking about 'driveway' houses.

 

[Darts]

Thanks to Captain Kirk for his detailed response. Three more questions (apologies if they were already covered).

1) Will my taxes go up after the conversion?

2) Can I sell the converted garage? (Yes, I know another poster said no.)

3) Can I rent the converted garage to a tenant?

 

[TeeJay]

Thanks to Captain Kirk for his detailed response. Three more questions (apologies if they were already covered).

1) Will my taxes go up after the conversion?

2) Can I sell the converted garage? (Yes, I know another poster said no.)

3) Can I rent the converted garage to a tenant?

1- Yes
2- No
3- Yes (but needs to meet all codes etc)

 

[james t kirk]

1- Yes
2- No
3- Yes (but needs to meet all codes etc)

Correct on all counts.

You cannot sell just the garage. You would need to sever the lot and the odds of doing that are just about 0. (You would need to be on a double lot with the garage on one side and the house on the other side.) The city would pull out the City of Toronto Planning Act (which is MASSIVE) and it would state under which circumstances you could sever the lot. But basically it boils down to how big are all the other lots in your area? If yours is about the same size as the other lots, then it would be easier for you to go to the moon than sever the lot.)

 

[Darts]

Thanks guys. Much more complicated than I first thought.

If the City won't allow me to sell the converted garage, can I sue them for violating my Charter Rights and Freedom? Ok, bad joke.

 

[angrymime666]

Tell me everything you know about "laneway houses".

Apparently, converting your garage at the back of your house to living quarters is one means of reducing the current housing shortage in Toronto.

Whose permission does one need to do the conversion? Who to hire to do the conversion? Once the conversion is complete can you sell the converted garage separate from the main house?

if I remember correctly as per OBC an accessory building cannot be turned into a dwelling unless it is attached to the house.

 

[james t kirk]

if I remember correctly as per OBC an accessory building cannot be turned into a dwelling unless it is attached to the house.

The Building Code governs the design of the building (structure, serviceability, layouts, means of egress, etc), it does not govern the usage of the buildings on the lot. The Planing Act (aka zoning) will govern usage.

You can definitely have more than one dwelling on a lot, there is nothing unusual about that. Just the intended usage needs to conform to the zoning. The big governing factor with the City of Toronto will be lot coverage. There are limits as to the allowable ratio of gross floor area with respect to the lot area. For example, the allowable lot coverage in many areas of the city of Toronto is 0.45. I.e. if you calculate the gross area (in square feet say) of your building (all floors except the basement (unless it has been converted to living space)) and then calculate the area of your lot, your gross floor area cannot exceed 45 percent lot area. If you want to go over the 45%, then you need to apply for and be granted a variance with respect to the zoning. Since a detached garage is not living space, it's gross floor area is not included in the calculation. But the second you do make it into living space, then the gross floor are of the garage IS included in the calculation.

Now there may very well be constraints in the City of Toronto Planning Act that specifically do not allow you to convert a detached garage to a dwelling under certain (or all) circumstances. I don't know the answer to that. But a trip to the Building Department at the City of Toronto can answer that question.

 

[zbla]

You must be an architect or urban planning consultant or you've gone through Night Court (aka Committee of Adjustment) in Toronto. )

I've heard that Committee hearings can often hear 30 or 40 applications per session.

I don't agree with you about objectors appearing automatically means you will lose. I've gone through the process probably 40 times and at probably 10 or them there have been objectors. I think I've lost 3 and at one of those there were no objectors and City Planning were on board. Not in Toronto.

 

[angrymime666]

The Building Code governs the design of the building (structure, serviceability, layouts, means of egress, etc), it does not govern the usage of the buildings on the lot. The Planing Act (aka zoning) will govern usage.

You can definitely have more than one dwelling on a lot, there is nothing unusual about that. Just the intended usage needs to conform to the zoning. The big governing factor with the City of Toronto will be lot coverage. There are limits as to the allowable ratio of gross floor area with respect to the lot area. For example, the allowable lot coverage in many areas of the city of Toronto is 0.45. I.e. if you calculate the gross area (in square feet say) of your building (all floors except the basement (unless it has been converted to living space)) and then calculate the area of your lot, your gross floor area cannot exceed 45 percent lot area. If you want to go over the 45%, then you need to apply for and be granted a variance with respect to the zoning. Since a detached garage is not living space, it's gross floor area is not included in the calculation. But the second you do make it into living space, then the gross floor are of the garage IS included in the calculation.

Now there may very well be constraints in the City of Toronto Planning Act that specifically do not allow you to convert a detached garage to a dwelling under certain (or all) circumstances. I don't know the answer to that. But a trip to the Building Department at the City of Toronto can answer that question.

i stand corrected...

 

[james t kirk]

You must be an architect or urban planning consultant or you've gone through Night Court (aka Committee of Adjustment) in Toronto. )

I've heard that Committee hearings can often hear 30 or 40 applications per session.

I don't agree with you about objectors appearing automatically means you will lose. I've gone through the process probably 40 times and at probably 10 or them there have been objectors. I think I've lost 3 and at one of those there were no objectors and City Planning were on board. Not in Toronto.

I've been through "night court" shall we say.

I said he'd lose if anyone objected only because what he wants is controversial (in the sense that a lot of people don't want to see what the OP is proposing and there is really no room for compromise. Its a yes or no kind of decision.)

In my experience with the Committee, if anyone objects, the judges hear the objection and if it's a reasonable objection, they accept it, or more often than not, they tell all parties, "go out in the hallway and see if you all can come up with a solution". A " solution" could mean anything from a compromise to a payout, to you explain to your neighbours what it is you're doing (if they don't understand).

But the garage is already there, so you can't scale it back. So there is no room for compromise. It either gets the green light as proposed or it gets the red light and the project dies on the vine. I find the Committee to be very sensitive to the neighbours' objections, and in this case, unless the lot is large, I think the odd are against the OP (should a neighbour object).

 

[james t kirk]

You mean one can't just rent out a bulldozer from Home Depot and get it going?

You can if you want.

:applouse:

 

[RichardG2020]

Nice and detailed response.

You either work in urban planning or you’re a developer.