Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Ville de Laval has just adopted a new urban planning code. Among the novelties, the possibility of adding an additional housing unit to one’s main residence. This is one of the solutions to “gently” densify the residential suburbs so widespread in North America.
The idea of densification, it is recalled, is to add dwellings where the infrastructures and services already exist.
In the debate around densification as a solution to combat urban sprawl, the image of the impersonal 20-storey condo tower is too often brandished like a prison where families would be locked up, sacrificed at the altar of the fight against climate changes.
But we forget to say that we must bet on the diversity of approaches. Each neighborhood has its own solution.
There are other models for increasing the density of an area occupied by single-family homes: two- or multi-generational housing, the addition of a floor or a garden pavilion, the transformation of a garage or basement. -floor in housing, etc. All of these options are grouped together under the name UHA for Accessory Housing Unit, three letters that we are likely to see more and more often over the next few years.
Some municipalities already allow them, but the addition of a unit is accompanied by conditions that discourage owners: it must be an extension of the main building, a common address and a relationship with the tenant are required, etc. Result: landlords arrange additional accommodation in complete secrecy… and illegality.
Quebec is lagging behind in the development of ADUs, which are more widespread in other Canadian provinces. Among the pioneering cities in the country, we think of Ottawa, which changed its regulations in 2016, or Vancouver, where laneway houses emerged in response to the housing crisis.
Quebec municipalities must also jump on the bandwagon and relax their regulations to facilitate the construction of this type of housing.
The city of Sainte-Catherine, on the South Shore of Montreal, did so last winter after seeing interest from its citizens.
But beware, this permission does not mean that the owners can build anything! These constructions must be supervised, ensuring architectural uniformity and harmonious integration. In short, we must respect the neighborhood so that these additions do not shock. And there are universal rules to follow: the infrastructure must be able to accommodate densification, the second home must be smaller than the main house, etc.
Proof that more and more municipalities are interested in this approach, UHAs were on the program of the last congress of the Union of Municipalities. It will also be discussed at the housing summit organized by the cities of Laval and Longueuil at the end of August.
We should also find details on UHAs in the action plan of the National Policy on Architecture and Land Use Planning, expected next fall.
But it is a file that must be handled with sensitivity, as Sébastien Lord, professor at the Institute of Urban Planning at the University of Montreal and director of the Ivanhoé Cambridge Observatory, points out. People are attached to their way of life and their neighborhood, and they tend to tense up when we talk to them about ADUs.
In its best practices guide, the urban planning firm Arpent also insists on the importance of social acceptability, which is essential in this process.
UHAs respond to many issues related to the fight against climate change, the housing crisis and the economic crisis.
A recent study indicates that, in the United States, a third of 18 to 25 year olds still live with their parents and do not intend, for financial reasons, to leave the family home anytime soon. The aging of the population is also disrupting housing needs.
Beyond densification, UHAs therefore encourage a form of solidarity in addition to allowing the owner who rents part of his house to absorb the increase in mortgage interest rates.
Beyond family ties, this type of housing could meet the needs of neighborhoods close to CEGEPs and universities, as well as to accommodate seasonal workers.
No, UHAs are not for everyone. But municipalities must authorize them when the winning conditions are met.