Algonquin Highlands mayor Liz Danielsen believes the development of tiny homes could form part of the solution to the community’s “crippling” housing crisis.
At a Feb. 15 meeting, council heard from representatives from Places for People (P4P), Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, and Tiny Town Association, on ways the municipality could bolster its affordable housing supply.
Fay Martin and Roland Lange, board members with P4P, said their organization has “changed direction somewhat” in recent years to embrace new ways to bring larger housing projects to fruition.
Founded in 2007, P4P owns and manages five rental locations in the County, boasting 12 residential units. They are currently being used to house 30 people – 14 adults and 16 children. Martin noted P4P has provided housing to 91 people over the past 16 years.
While proposed projects in Minden and Haliburton have fallen by the wayside, Martin said she is optimistic about a possible 16-unit residential build along Peninsula Road, which would more than double P4P’s existing inventory.
Lange said the organization isn’t just putting all its eggs in that basket, however. He said he’s leading several new initiatives, such as investigating managing rental properties on behalf of local homeowners, encouraging short-term renters to transition to a long-term rental model, assisting property owners with secondary unit applications, and promoting communal developments.
He said P4P was looking into a pilot that would see them build up to four tiny homes on property it owns in Carnarvon.
“We’re very excited about this. We’ve been talking about it since we bought the property two years ago. We’d like to find a way to work with you to make this happen,” Lange told council. “We firmly believe everyone has to look at affordable housing in different ways. The needs are so great, we need to find out how we can start implementing things at a much faster pace.”
Danielsen said the tiny home concept “does interest us all”, vowing to keep in contact with P4P officials to see if there’s a path forward. Martin said those potential units could be offered at rent geared to income, like most of P4P’s other properties, or be offered for rent to own.
‘We want to be here’
Susan Zambonin, CEO of the local Habitat chapter, said her organization has recently rewritten the book on how it moves big builds forward. In the past, Habitat built houses for families and held mortgages for them at a zero per cent interest rate, capped at 30 per cent of their income, and paid off over 25 years.
When the real estate market ballooned in 2020, they were forced to pivot.
“Now, we’ve partnered with a local credit union, they provide a first mortgage to homeowners for what they qualify for and then Habitat holds a second mortgage for the balance of the purchase price at zero per cent interest, with no payments to be made until the owners sell or refinance,” she said.
Zambonin said Habitat recently completed a 41-unit build in Peterborough using this model, with another nearby 12-unit development wrapping up this summer. There are plans for additional 41 and 84-unit developments in Peterborough, too.
While Habitat has yet to complete a project in Haliburton County, Zambonin said she wants that to change.
“We’d love to be building here – this is our territory… we just haven’t found the land to build on,” she said.
Danielsen noted Algonquin Highlands has identified four lots that could be suitable for development, the largest along Hwy. 118. She asked what a partnership could potentially look like between Habitat and the township. Zambonin says whatever land a municipality donates, they would receive the value of it back in rental units once a project is complete.
Ed Peterson founded the Kingston-based Tiny Town Association in 2017, with a goal of popularizing communal housing developments in Ontario. He believes tiny homes are the cheapest and quickest way to address Ontario’s housing crisis.
He said his company looks to partner with municipalities, who would donate land and cover the cost of any permit or rezoning fees, with Peterson taking on the responsibility of building small communities and servicing them. He said he could build between 16 and 20 residences per acre, with units maxing out at 384 sq. ft. of living space.
The tiny homes could then be bought at a fraction of the cost of a regular home, offering them for less than $150,000. Rentals would be offered at $800 per month, with rent-to-own initiatives also available.
Peterson said he’s currently working on proposals with 24 municipalities, with a 91-unit project in Odessa and 82-unit build in Elliot Lake close to proceeding.
“We hope municipalities will see us not as a for-profit developer, because we aren’t, but as… a partner developing affordable housing within your municipality,” he said, noting once land has been committed, he could have the first units ready within a month.
Deputy mayor Jennifer Dailloux said she was “buoyed” by the three presentations, saying there was plenty of options for council to consider.
“Since I’ve come onto council [in 2018] we’ve not embarked on a bold, possibly risky new partnership [for housing]. These are highly reputable potential partners; we all have the same goal. This is a really good opportunity for us to explore,” she said.
Council will discuss its options at a future meeting.
